


When I Look (Into Your Eyes)

by Behappy164



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: A few references to Homophobia, Also Georgie is Alive BTW, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Bill Denbrough Flirts, Cinderella Elements, Cliche, F/M, Gay Eddie, Georgie ships it, Happy Ending, Henry and Patrick are brothers, High School Appropriate Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Kinda Fuckboy Bill, M/M, Male Cinderella, Miscommunications a plenty, Multi, Pansexual Richie, Pining, References to Top Gun, Religious elements (such as praying), Sassy Stanley Uris, Some Swearing, Stan Tutors Georgie, The Author Regrets Nothing, The author has no knowledge about baseball so sorry about that ;), The losers are sick of Reddie's bullshit, bisexual bill, some sexual references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24643504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Behappy164/pseuds/Behappy164
Summary: The priest was droning on and on and Stan’s darling mother had tears of pure joy streaming down her face as she faced Butch in her poofy white ensemble, who himself was trying to keep it together for the sake of his sons, or his stupid macho male ideals Stan thought to himself rather stubbornly.The empty pews stared back at Stan as he stiffly stood perched behind his mother in a brand-new suit.“I now pronounce you husband and wife” eventually boomed the priest and Stanley knew that the life he had once lived would forever be different.Basically The Stenbrough Cinderella AU That No One Asked For
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 78





	1. Prologue

For as long as Stanley can remember, he has always valued the importance of family and maintaining close connections with those who know you the best.

He often thinks back to when it was just him and his parents, without a care in the world and when his individuality was encouraged instead of cruelly mocked by those who he thought were meant to love him the most.

He has fond memories of that time, when his faith and trust in a higher power was heartened and his family showed him how to be apart of something bigger, a church community where he learned so much about the world around him.

He remembers his parents. They taught him so much, cooking, cleaning, sucking it up when life slapped you in the face, he learned it all and was grateful.

He particularly remembers whenever he was faced with hardship, his father would always tell him "don't ever be scared to ask for help, it doesn't mean you are weak, it only means you are wise". It was a phrase which Stanley's father had lived by, so much so that he had even gotten it painted on the main feature wall of their diner for all of the customers to see because of its significance to him and who he had become.

Stan also recalls being told by his parents at a young age about eyes and how they are often the windows into a person's soul. His parents would say that you can tell a lot from someone based just on their eyes and the feelings and emotions that are often hidden within them.

It was just like yesterday for Stan, when his parents first opened "Kosher like me". It was the first kosher diner in all of shitty Derry and his parents worked so hard each and every day to make it the most successful it could possibly be.

Stanley recalls spending a lot of time there as a child and now as a teen practically lives at "Kosher like me" when he doesn't have to go to school. He works, cleaning and flipping burgers, counting down the days until his 18th birthday when he can escape this shithole and move someplace better and never ever look back.

For the most part, when looking back, Stan is grateful, he had a great childhood, filled with joy and the endless love and support from his incredible parents.  
But when he digs deeper into his memories there is the smaller and darker part of his childhood which brings him sadness and sorrow. Where he remembers watching his father, bed ridden and so ill that each day his words were often treated as his last.

Until they were, and all Stanley remembers are the countless services he attended while clinging to his poor mother's hand for dear life as she tried to contain her weeps into her lacy handkerchief.

Stanley learns for the first time, that bad things happen to good people, to good and unassuming people who don't deserve any of the pain and suffering that they are ever faced with. He learns this from his mother, as he watches her sob herself to sleep. When she puts on a brave face each day, but he can see deep down that she is drowning without the love and support of her husband.

Stanley remembers after this a lot of time goes by, its almost like a void of time just passes and he and his mother cope, they really do.

But then, she starts smiling again and has stars in her eyes which she hasn't had for the longest time and she throws herself into even more church and community based activities.

Apart from running the diner, she also shifted her focus to being the best mother she could and introduced Stanley to birdwatching, teaching him everything about the different types of birds and how to spot them. Stan remembers completely falling in love with it and wasn't surprised in the slightest when it quickly became his favourite pastime.

Though, Stanley observed her happiest was when she had returned from her weekly volunteering at the Derry soup kitchen. She would often downplay her happiness, but Stan was so elated for her and this newfound joy that she had somehow gained. Stan was even starting to have hope, for the future and for their happiness, maybe there was such a thing as faith and second chances after all.

That was until he met Butch.

* * *

Stan was shocked when his mother, who was the least spontaneous person Stanley knew, apart from himself had announced to him, one day while birdwatching together that she was engaged. She was to be married to a man named Oscar 'Butch' Bowers who she had been dating for the past six months.

What surprised Stan even more was that she had never mentioned the name Oscar or Butch before, or even let alone mentioned that she was seeing someone. Stanley didn't understand, this behaviour was completely out of character for her because ever since his father had died they promised to tell each other everything, though apparently everything seemed to be too much for her to handle.

Despite being rather upset at his mother for not telling him sooner, he could tell that she was desperate for his approval and so Stanley tried to push aside this shock because he knew his mother deserved happiness, more than anyone on the world and if this man was going to give it to her, so be it. Though he couldn't help wondering, would whoever this man was, ever really be a match for his father?

Expecting an argument or at least a few curse words, Andrea Uris was rather relieved and even slightly concerned by her son's acceptance of her out of character behaviour. But regardless of this, she had hurriedly set up a meeting (or "an informal get along") for Stan and Butch to get to know each other before the wedding which they (being both Andrea and Butch, but mainly Andrea) had hurriedly decided would be in a month.

Stan distinctly remembers the first time he met Butch and is still able to recall the Cheshire cat grin that was spread across Butch's face, by now it is imprinted in his mind. It was a Saturday and his mother had scrubbed his skin squeaky clean and laid out his best clothes for him to wear, despite being a more than capable twelve year old.

She had lectured him about being on his best behaviour but Stanley knew that it was totally ironic, considering how well behaved he was anyways and as she fussed around in the kitchen making some unnecessary baked goods, Stan had heard the doorbell ring.

After taking a few shaky deep breaths Stanley opened the door and was met with the surprisingly warm brown eyes of a man in probably his late forties. This man did not look at all like Stanley had imagined and he immediately felt bad for thinking that his mother was engaged to a psycho or worse a complete idiot.

He had faint greying stubble and a rather large stomach which Stanley spotted right away alongside the dark green uniform he was adorned in that was akin to one a Derry policeman would wear. His profession was something that this mother had mentioned to him beforehand when filling Stanley in on about almost every detail of his very soon to be stepfather.

Stanley also immediately noticed that Oscar, or Butch as he insisted to be called was not alone and that behind him were two boys who looked to be the same age as Stan. Despite informing him about nearly everything, his mother seemed to have completely forgotten to mention that he was going to have stepbrothers which absolutely astounded Stanley.

He had never seen her this scatterbrained or forgetful ever in his entire life.

After being let in, Butch walked over to Stanley's mother and planted a wet kiss on her cheek before plopping himself down on their sofa and gesturing to the boys behind him to follow his actions. A grin has made its way across Butch's features and Stan wasn't sure what to think about it. Stanley's immediate opinion of his soon to be stepfather was starting to shift from initially positive, to more uncertain and even suspicious.

Clenching his fists Stanley hovered by the kitchen with his mother as she finished pulling out the pastries from the oven, he was trying to be patient for her sake, but knew that he was not ready or prepared for _any_ of this.

After a few nudges from his mother, he slowly walked over to the living room and seated himself as far away from Butch and his two sons as possible, who Stan had by now dubbed as Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Awkwardness filled the space as Stan's mother fluttered around the guests, offering them drinks and whatnot before Butch cleared this throat.

"Darling, would you mind if you leave us boys alone to have a chat and go fold laundry or something," Butch had directed at Stanley's mother, complete with a cloyingly sweet grin. As if in a complete daze she nodded before hastily dashing off into the laundry.

Butch then moved his eyes over to Stanley who immediately felt scrutinised under this man's gaze, but he tried to smile for the sake of his mother.

"So, Stan its good to finally meet you. Tell me, what are you interested in?"

But before Stanley could even respond, Thing 1 and Thing 2 had started laughing and whispering to each other, probably ready to judge him and whatever he was next going to say.

"Boys, pay attention" Butch snapped before whacking both Thing 1 and Thing 2 on the arm, rather roughly. Stanley watched as it immediately silenced them and together in a rather practiced unison, they replied

"Sorry Dad".

Expectantly Butch turned back to Stan who was trying not to freak out in front of this clearly manipulative man. He also made a mental note to never get on Butch's bad side or to make him angry in general.

"Well, I enjoy reading, spending time with my mother, doing homework and birdwatching" Stan responded determined to appear as confident as possible.

Butch snorted at his answer and without thinking or letting himself get embarrassed Stanley felt himself immediately blurt out afterwards.

"Okay Butch, can you tell me what you exactly see in my mother?"

Butch's brows rose in surprise, clearly not prepared for Stan's sudden outburst and after a pregnant pause he finally answered

"I guess you can say the good thing about your mother is that she does what she's told and she is very good at cookin and cleanin. Coz god knows if I had to do any of that, it would make me gay just by sole association" he explained as he chuckled, as if he had made a hilarious joke and after a brief moment, his sons started to join in as well.

But instead of laughing along with them Stanley just stared at him in complete disgust. Not only was this man full of shit, he was also homophobic, how wonderful.

But Stanley knew that despite disagreeing with Butch and everything that he stood for, he needed to sacrifice his own opinions and values for the sake of his mother's happiness. He had never seen her this happy in his life, maybe except for when his father was around and he knew that she deserved this more than anyone.

So, he sat forcing himself to not roll his eyes at their bigoted attempt of humour. After their laughter had finally stopped, Stan observed that the room was starting to feel thick and heavy, in some ways it felt like the inside of a Sauna, sweaty and overall unpleasant.

Though, luckily for Stanley, the tension was disrupted quite quickly by Butch who asked

"Say Stan, can you show me where the bathroom is?" already highly suspicious of this family, Stan pointed in the direction and saw that instead of following his direction, Butch had walked into the laundry, where Stanley's mother was currently situated.

Once Butch had vanished from his sight, Stanley resettled into his chair and started to fidget with his fingers as both Thing 1 and Thing 2 stared at him rather intently.

"What are you wearing?" Thing 1 eventually asked as he snickered and whispered something to Thing 2 beside him. Stan watched as they started to critically rove their eyes over Stanley's attire, he noted that they had definitely gotten that from their father. Not only was Stan completely overdressed but he was starting to feel increasingly suffocated under their gaze.

"Uh, my mother chose it" Stanley tried to explain as he shifted nervously and tugged at the bottom at his sweater vest, praying that there would be some kind of accident so that they would never become his step brothers.

"Well you look like a dork" Thing 2 replied, before he started laughing hysterically with his brother following suit. While watching them laugh Stanley secretly thought they sounded like hyenas or lunatics and had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at them.

Staring at the watch on his wrist Stan watched the time tick away in the silence that ultimately followed. After a while it felt like Stan's prayers of this family's removal had finally been answered as Butch returned from what Stan presumed was making out with his mother in the laundry room. Butch was flushed and proudly smirking like he had just won the lottery and had hurriedly announced to his sons that they needed to head home.

Time flew by very quickly after the first time meeting Butch and his sons and Stanley could not believe how different his mother had become now that she was dating Butch.

Despite this, Stanley found himself standing inside a grand cathedral several weeks later with a fake smile plastered across his features. He tried not to glare simultaneously at Butch as well as Thing 1 and Thing 2 who he had learned were actually named Henry and Patrick.

The priest was droning on and on and Stan's darling mother had tears of pure joy streaming down her face as she faced Butch in her poofy white ensemble, who himself was trying to keep it together for the sake of his sons, or his stupid macho male ideals Stan thought to himself rather stubbornly.

The empty pews stared back at Stan as he stiffly stood perched behind his mother in a brand-new suit.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife” eventually boomed the priest and Stanley knew that the life he had once lived would forever be different.

* * *

The first few months living with the Bowers had been hectic for short. Not only had Stanley and his mother completely changed their lives to accommodate for Butch and his sons, but since their marriage Butch had even become business partners with Stanley's mother, meaning they were now both co-owners of "Kosher like me".

But regardless of this, things were smooth for the most part, until one fateful day when the only stable thing left in Stanley's life was taken away from him in a single heartbeat.

He was sitting in the living room of the now Uris-Bowers combined household as he lazily flicked through the television, having finished his homework several minutes ago. The rest of the house was silent, and Stan was grateful for these moments of pure solitude when it was just him alone in the house with nothing to think or worry about.

His thoughts had been unfortunately disturbed though by the ringing of the household phone. Hesitantly he padded over to it and picked it up, listening to the man on the other end as he found himself freeze, overcome with a shit ton of emotions.

There had been an accident on Motorway 67 and both Butch and Stanley's mother were involved. Butch was currently sitting alive and being tested for any minor injuries in the hospital, while his mother had hit her head rather forcefully during the accident and on the way to the hospital, had passed away.

Stanley felt his insides crumble at the sad and unjust reality. As a surfeit of unshed tears began to stream down his face within a matter of what felt like seconds.

He had no one.

Fury seeped through his bones as more angry tears began to _tumble_ out and he fell to his knees full-blown sobbing at this point, as he cursed his life and all that it was.

Stanley was never an angry person, he always tried to contain his emotions but now, his only hope had been taken from him. His only chance of happiness had been stripped away and that now meant for the time being, he belonged to Butch.

Stanley remembers wondering why. Why his mother who was such a good and kind person been taken from the world and from his life at a time when he felt like he needed her the most.

It was from this day, that Stanley relearned a very important lesson. One that he had been too afraid to seriously think about before. The passing of his mother had reaffirmed to him, that bad things happen all the time, to good and unassuming people and that there is nothing we can ever do to fix it, regardless of how we act and how we treat others.

Stanley knew from that moment, that shit was never going to be easy for him, but he was prepared to fight. So he could make his parents proud of who he has become, from where they are, watching down on him up above.

But now he waits, while he is still under the steel grip of Butch and prays, that his aspirations of Yale or Harvard will one day come true and that he can escape this shithole and run far far away and never ever look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> It has been a bit of a guilty pleasure writing this fic so I hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> If you want to, please leave a comment/review it really helps me out.
> 
> (also there should be 8 chapters in total, including the prologue and the epilogue)


	2. Chapter 1

**5 YEARS LATER**

“STAN”

Butch yelled, his voice echoing through the Bowers household and Stanley immediately shot up from where he was, cursing the extremely uncomfortable position that he found himself in. 

He had fallen asleep at his desk, during the wee hours of the morning after finishing his latest assignment for History that was due in a few days. Both his back and neck were aching, telling him to never do this again because the consequences were truly horrendous.

But despite this, he knew he would be back probably doing the same thing the following evening either way.

Stanley drew himself away from his makeshift pillow which consisted of his forearms and dashed around the attic, trying to find a fresh shirt and a clean pair of pants to wear. 

Tucking a crème button down into his corduroy trousers he hastily ran a hairbrush through his unruly hair before grabbing a marker and quickly crossing off yet another day on the calendar that was hung on his bedroom wall. He only brought it out when he was alone because if Butch ever saw it Stanley knew he would completely lose his shit.

Only seven months left, until he could finally leave this hellhole for good, Stanley reminded himself.

Though, it truly seemed like time could not possibly be going _any_ slower for him.

It was like he was frozen in the present, unable to move and helplessly waiting for a miracle of some sort, to come and save him or at least take him far away. 

As a child, Stanley had proudly worn his kippah, wherever he went, but as he got older had stopped wearing it, mainly because of the constant shit he would get from Butch and Henry and their minions about it. They would taunt him and spit out words that were beyond hurtful, making a mockery of who Stanley was and his faith.

“STAN YOU LAZY SHIT GET DOWN HERE” screamed Henry this time, his nasal voice brutally forcing Stanley out of his reverie.

Great, not only was Butch pissed, but so were Henry and Patrick and he would have to deal with their combined fuckery. Dealing with one was hard enough but all three was a legitimate death wish.

Stanley was convinced that he was going to be committed to an early grave just because of those assholes.

Butch was nothing if not furious as Stanley hurriedly rushed into the kitchen and pulled out the carton of eggs from the fridge before he cracked a few into a frypan heating over the stove rather flushed.

Stanley held his breath as he felt Butch come up behind him and winced as Butch grabbed his arm with his iron grip, fingers digging into his arm.

He whispered into Stan’s ear, his tone harsh and words gritted.

“Stan, what have we talked about? When you are late for breakfast, you are not only being a lazy and selfish brat, but you are also stopping me and Henry and Patrick from gettin a meal. Remember Stanley you are only here to serve me, without me you would be nothing, you pathetic shit”

Stan immediately felt a retort threaten to fall from his lips, but he managed to stop himself knowing that if he didn’t, the consequences would be beyond severe.

Butch dug his fingers harder into Stanley’s arm and Stan scrunched up his face, trying to deep breathe or meditate so that he wouldn’t flip out on Butch.

He was so not in the mood to deal with any of the Bowers family’s bullshit today.

Stanley stood there bracing himself for the worst as Butch’s grip turned to steel, but was surprised when after a moment, Butch let go of his arm and casually patted him on the shoulder. Not before he plopped himself in a seat at the dinner table as if their interaction had never happened.

In confusion, Stan turned around trying to meet Butch’s eyes and as they met his, Stanley was overwhelmed with an emotion he could not comprehend; was that guilt he saw? remorse? But it immediately vanished as soon as it had appeared and Stan hastily returned to what he was doing, as a bunch of thoughts flooded through his mind. Did Butch have a soul after all? Did he actually feel bad for treating Stanley like dog shit or was Stan just overthinking everything like he usually did?

He continued to think, and returned to being oddly suspicious of Butch, as Stanley finished plating up the eggs, handing them to Butch and then his sons who had started to crowd around the dinner table like a swarm of pigeons.

Together they ate in silence and Stanley once again entered a daydream like stance, contemplating Butch and the person he had become over the past few years and his entirely out of character behaviour.

After Stanley’s mother had died, Butch had taken it very hard, Stan could tell.

A month after her passing, Butch had been fired from his job as a police officer. His search was at first filled with purpose, but eventually his resolve weakened and instead of looking, he would spend all his time gambling and drinking with his friends.

As a form of coping Stanley supposed, Butch had even gotten several tattoos, all of which featured scantily clad women and were scattered along his arms. His new passion if you will, had spurred on his decision to completely renovate the diner and to build a new bar into the main section and a tattoo parlour out the back of the diner.

Due to the consistent success of “Kosher like me” within the Derry community and Butch’s now sole ownership over the place, it truly seemed like he planned to never work another day in his life.

As part of Butch’s renovations, he had also repainted the entire diner a jet black and much to Stanley’s dismay, had even covered over the infamous quote which Stanley’s father himself had painted onto the main feature wall.

It looked completely unrecognisable to Stan and he often felt like Butch had removed all proof of his parents and their work by completely changing it.

After breakfast, Stanley completed his usual plethora of chores as Henry and Patrick got ready for school.

As he glanced at the watch on his wrist, Stanley noted there was not much time until class began and scrambled to finish his chores, before grabbing his backpack and heading out the front door without looking back at Butch, Patrick or Henry.

But before he could head out, he heard Butch’s voice, loud and clear from where he was now seated out on the patio, his fingers were tightly wound around the neck of a beer bottle.

“Stanley, I’m goin to need you to pick up an extra shift tonight at the diner”

Stan wanted to complain he really did, but considering the immeasurable power that this man had over him and his future, he knew there would be no point in arguing with him.

Besides, the fact that he practically spent every living minute at “Kosher like me”, was never going to be enough for Butch, so it seemed.

Without saying anything in response, Stanley opened the front door and stepped outside letting it slam dramatically behind him, like the petty bitch he was.

Though he instantly regretted it, knowing Butch would most likely have a fit about that at some stage and Stan would once again have to face Butch’s wrath. He would also learn to never ever disrespect him again because he was an ungrateful shit who Butch knew secretly liked dick and was as insignificant as a piece of gum stuck to Butch’s foot;

As Stan readjusted his eyes in front of him, he was met with Ben, possibly his favourite person ever who was in the driver’s seat of his father’s convertible, which he called Beatrice and was reading what appeared to be Romeo and Juliet.

Typical Ben, already reading texts that hadn’t even been prescribed in class yet.

“Ben” Stan rose his voice and watched as his best friend averted his gaze from the Shakespeare classic to Stan. His kind brown eyes lit up, matching the new grin that was starting to spread across his features.

Ben was always experimenting with his outfits and had decided today to wear a white shirt with a denim overshirt hanging loose over top, he almost looked cool, which was a change from his outfit the previous day that had appeared to be from an entirely different era.

“You ready to get this show on the road?” Ben asked him, revving his car a few times.

Nodding, Stanley made his way into the passenger seat ready to rant about Butch and the strange morning he had endured.

* * *

As Ben drove Beatrice into the school car-park, Stanley immediately felt his insides twist up at the sight they were first met with.

Familiar choppy auburn hair was sprawled out on the hood of the car, directly opposite from them and was busy sucking faces with his flavour of the week. Stanley ground his teeth together, hating that the bastard's actions even bothered him in the slightest.

Bill Denbrough was a fuckboy at that, and Stan could not believe that he had ever been associated with that twat before.

Rolling his eyes at Bill’s obnoxious and _typical_ behaviour, Stanley with Ben in tow headed into the school, dreading the shithole that was Derry High School.

As they strolled down the hallway to first period English, Stan watched as they passed a redhead with piercing blue eyes who he immediately recognised as Beverly Marsh. He had heard rumours that she and Bill were on and off lovers, and smirked as he watched Ben flush a vibrant scarlet, just in her presence.

He was well aware that his poor friend was absolutely head over heels for this girl and hoped for his sake that she wasn’t seeing Bill.

Though to be honest, Bill was unpredictable, and never seemed to be truly satisfied. He was always hooking up with different girls and guys, never settling down long enough to be fully committed to someone. Stan guessed it had come along with him being the first openly bi guy in all of Derry High, especially one of his calibre and popularity.

After seating themselves in their English classroom, where they usually sat in the front, Ben and Stan were struck by the usual havoc and chaos associated with senior year and probably the latest gossip from some party that had happened in the past few days.

Stanley snorted to himself, teen parties were just an excuse to get ridiculously drunk and high off whatever plant you could seem to find. It really seemed like he and Ben would be the only people graduating with all braincells still intact by the end of the year.

Once the class had settled down, their teacher announced that they would be reading and analysing Romeo and Juliet for the remainder of the next few weeks.

The rest of the lesson was relatively uneventful, which was thanks to Richie Tozier who would not shut up and was busy bickering with a small boy that was sporting a pair of tiny red shorts despite the chilly fall weather. Though, his top half was swimming in an overly large hoodie, which clearly did not belong to him and Stan could tell from the smirk on Tozier’s face it was his and he was proud.

They were an odd combination, Richie and Eddie, the guy who only wore tattered old Hawaiian shirts and coke-bottle glasses and had the inability to be quiet for a second, seemed to work at his best with the small feisty boy by his side. Stan could never tell if they were dating or not, they were always close, but never managed to be close enough in that respect, though it was obvious that both were crazy about each other.

And of course, they were apart of Bill’s gang and were always around him, like they were apart of some godforsaken secret society, it was hard to believe that even they were under Bill’s spell.

The rest of Stan’s classes that morning flew by and Stanley met Ben for lunch by the entrance of the library, where they spent most of their days hiding from Henry and Patrick and their minions. It did also help that Henry and Patrick were practically illiterate and had probably never read a fucking book in their entire lives which meant they would never be seen dead in the library, except when they were hunting for Stan and Ben.

Ben and Stan also chose to spend most of their time in the library because of the peace and solitude that came along with it, they found it was a hell of of a lot better than the mayhem which was the cafeteria at lunchtime.

Besides, the librarian Mrs Wells was very kind and had become quite well acquainted with Stan and Ben, often letting them eat in the library, granted they didn’t make a mess.

For the most part lunch was successful, except when Henry and Patrick with their henchmen unexpectedly showed up near the end. They called Stanley only a shocking five insults and attempted to knock out Ben and Stan one or two times, despite still managing to bruise Stan pretty badly on his neck and collarbones from their vicious hits. Once the bell rang and they (Patrick and Henry and their minions) had scattered, Stan readjusted his shirt, from where he and Ben were slumped against a wall in the male bathroom. Henry and Patrick never liked to beat them in the library because Mrs Wells was always watching and so the bathroom had become their designated spot where no one could catch them.

After heaving himself up achingly slow, Stanley winced as he bumped into Bill, who happened to be the only other person he had been trying to avoid, on his way out of the bathroom. Ben stood equally as disheveled behind him and Stanley cringed as Bill rose his brows in surprise under his snapback before he spoke, taking in both of their rumpled outfits.

“U-Uris, w-wow, I didn’t know you and Hanscom were seeing e-each other and clearly d-doing more than j-j-just that”, he wolf-whistled and Stan flushed a bright and downright hideous red in response as Ben who was standing behind him peeked out to see what was going on.

“No Bill we’re not dating, now why don’t you go back to Brian or Trevor or whatever the name is of the guy you were busy fucking first thing this morning”, Stanley was entirely on edge as he answered, secretly wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole. 

Hurt flashed through Bill’s ocean blue eyes before he asked “Uris a-are you j-jealous?” his eyes then glistened with challenge as he completely ignored the majority of what Stan had just said. An infuriating smirk had begun to make its ways across his features and Stanley wanted to slap it off his face so bad.

Stanley hated that he found Bill’s cockiness or even that goddamn smirk the slightest bit charming and with a huff, stalked past him with Ben in tow as they shoved him out of the way before heading to their next period, which was ironically calculus with the devil himself.

* * *

After an achingly slow period of AP Calculus Stan parted ways with Ben and headed to his last class of the day which was Physics. Despite not having Ben in this class with him, he would often sit with Mike Hanlon and a girl called Sam who was new to the school having just moved to Derry at the start of the year. 

Even though Mike was friends with Bill, he was entirely different than that bastard and was conscientious and kind, often engaging in some good conversations with Sam and Stan and was overall a great human.

The rest of the class went by pretty fast and at the end of the lesson Stanley’s teacher Mr Dalton asked to speak with him in private.

“Now Stan, as you might be aware you are currently one of, if not the top student in all of your classes and are doing extremely well. And as your teacher who has consulted with your other teachers I, and the rest of us really recommend that you start tutoring, not only would it look great on your college applications, but it would also be really great if you could share your wisdom with someone younger who could really use it.”

Stanley blushed at what his teachers had said about him as Mr Dalton resumed speaking

“As you know, we (Derry High) are very close with the middle school down the road and I know of a few students who are struggling in particular and could really use your help and support”

“We have one young man in particular whose parents speak very highly of you and specifically want you to tutor him in both science and history twice a week. They are also willing to pay you, if that’s any consolation.”

Intrigued by this proposal and the boy he would be tutoring, Stanley immediately thought of Butch and not having to spend time with him and without so much as a drop of hesitation replied

“Yes. Definitely Mr Dalton, I would absolutely love to take up this opportunity. ”

“Okay perfect then” Mr Dalton beamed as he continued “I’ll make sure to let Mr and Mrs Denbrough know so that they can tell their son Georgie, I assume that you already know them so you can arrange other details with them outside of school time”

Mr Dalton’s mention of Georgie Denbrough and his family caused Stan to freeze for a second, as he started to panic in realisation. Thoughts flooded through his mind of Bill and he instantly backtracked with his agreement, knowing that he could never go through with it, not while Bill was around.

“Oh, I’m sorry sir, but I don’t think I’ll actually be able to do it after all, I’m just really busy”

“Stan” Mr Dalton started again, his voice softening “I really think that you should take up this opportunity while it is available, I mean you are an incredibly bright student and are capable of doing so many wonderful things that I think you really need this platform to grow into the successful person I’m sure you will one day become. Besides, I didn’t mention this before” his voice lowered “but the Denbrough family are willing to pay you double the usual hourly fee, as long as you will agree to tutor their son.”

Taking into consideration Mr Dalton and his kind words of encouragement and the fact that the Denbrough’s were seemingly desperate for his support and were wiling to pay him double what he would normally receive, he knew that he needed to think carefully about his options here.

He wondered, if the money would be worth having to deal with Bill or if he should instead just refuse and be faced with having no sense of freedom and being completely stuck with Butch and his sons. But, he did really need the money, if he was going to escape Butch’s grasp as soon as he turned 18 and it wasn’t like opportunities to make money were being presented to him at all, aside from right now.

So, after thinking about it for a few minutes and coming to a conclusion which he knew he would most definitely regret, he rose his head, looking dead straight into his teacher’s warm hazel eyes and let out a nervous and rather hesitant smile

“Actually on second thought Mr Dalton, I think that I _will_ take you up on that offer after all”

Joy filled Mr Dalton’s features but all Stan could think was what had he agreed to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for continuing to read my story it truly means a lot!
> 
> I hope that this update was okay and worth the wait :)
> 
> Well... Until next time I guess.


	3. Chapter 2

Stanley tentatively stepped into the Denbrough household, gripping the straps of his backpack as tight as possible.

He had just arrived from school, after parting ways with Ben as he completed the fifteen-minute walk to the Denbrough’s house.

Butch had been calm, eerily calm when Stanley sprung the news on him, the previous evening about his new tutoring commitment and Stan could not believe that he agreed, as easily as he did.

Butch had been okay with it, as long as Stan’s money became his and every single dollar that Stanley earned would go straight into his bulging pocket, probably stored away for his newest outing to a casino somewhere outside the walls of Derry.

Stan was fine with this, knowing that he could keep half of his pay without Butch ever knowing thanks to the double pay he was receiving and as long as he headed straight to the diner after tutoring Georgie there would be no problems.

The foyer of the Denbrough’s place was huge, possibly as big as Butch’s entire house and Stanley was overcome with Déjà vu. It had been years since he’d stepped foot into this place and not much had changed at all from what he could see.

“Stan!” the small figure of Georgie Denbrough exclaimed, as he ran down the main staircase of the house into the foyer, excitement twinkling in his bright blue eyes.

 _They were so much like Bill’s_ Stanley thought to himself as Georgie started rambling, having not seen Stan in the last five years. Georgie had always been like a younger brother to Stanley during his childhood and he had really missed seeing the little boy, who he could not believe was now twelve years old.

“Stan what happened to you? I thought you were gone, and I would always ask Billy, but he never answered me, and I was wor-”

“G-Georgie t-t-that’s enough” came the resounding voice of Bill Denbrough, the saint himself who appeared behind Stanley at the entrance of the house.

Stanley turned to the russet teen behind him watching his actions like a hawk, while Bill casually strode past Stan, not even acknowledging him or his existence.

Things hadn’t been great between them since their last conversation and Stan had been dreading the fact that this guy was going to reappear back into his life whether he liked it or not.

Oblivious to the death glares that Stanley was shooting rather unsuccessfully at Bill, Georgie kept on chattering

“Well, Stan I’m going to go upstairs and grab my textbooks then we can set up in the living room, if you still remember where that is” Georgie gave him a pointed look as Stanley murmured to himself, of course he hadn’t forgotten, this family and this whole house had played such a big role in his upbringing.

“Just give me a few minutes to get ready then you can come up. Our parents aren’t going to be around, so don’t worry about that” Georgie said before shooting both Stan and Bill a final smile as he headed upstairs.

Stanley watched Georgie’s retreating figure as he hurried up the stairs into presumably his bedroom, before Stan turned to Bill who was still in the foyer with him and had decided to occupy himself with his phone, probably texting his latest hook-up.

Determined to make their chat quick and as seamless as possible Stanley addressed him, his teeth grinding together.

“What the fuck are you doing here Bill?”

Bill had the nerve to look surprised at Stan’s outburst before he chuckled and returned to his phone, purposely avoiding his question.

“You have some guts showing your face here when you knew I’d be tutoring _your_ brother” Stanley continued, his brows knitting together as he crossed his arms trying to provoke the guy in front of him, so he could get a response or at this rate _anything_ in return.

Silence endured as Bill kept his eyes trained on the phone in front of him before Stanley spoke again unable to keep the untamed fury from his voice.

“Okay look, I know that you think you’re so great and mighty and whatever else, but can you not be here when I have to tutor your brother. Stan’s cheeks had become gradually more heated as he kept on talking “it’s hard enough having to come back here after so many years, but having to deal with you is far from great, besides don’t you have baseball training, Mr I’m Too Cool For You?”

Bill finally rose his eyes from his phone to Stanley, his gaze was penetrating, and Stan felt goosebumps begin to develop all over his body as Bill simply smirked at him, clearly enjoying Stanley’s frustration.

“And what do I tell Georgie anyways, that his brother decided he was too fucking cool to spend time with me anymore and as a result completely abandoned me and left me face first in the dirt while you went off on your goddamn high horse, waltzing around with your new friends and left me to entirely fend for myself”

Stanley watched the tips of Bill’s ears turn a bright pink, while the rest of his face had in suit flushed a deliciously bright scarlet and Stan could not tell if he was humiliated or furious, but either way kept on going, too mad to care and secretly pleased by his reaction. 

“Not to mention the fact that you never said a goddamn word to me at all during this process and I thought you were mad at me or ignoring me or both and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why” Stanley felt tears begin to prick his eyes but he knew that Bill needed to hear this loud and clear like the asshole that he was.

His voice eventually diminished as he heard himself whisper

“I understand that you don’t want to speak to me, that’s fine I just wish things had been different”

“S-S-Stan” Bill eventually tried to speak but Stan knew he wouldn’t be able to deal with any attempt of an apology from him and he would _not_ give the other teen that satisfaction.

Without taking a second glance back at Bill, Stanley began to hastily wipe at the tears of betrayal that had started to fall down his cheeks devoid of his knowledge and headed up the stairs, ready to face Georgie and to get this session over with.

* * *

The next tutoring session which was on the following Monday came far too quickly for Stanley.

But this time, as he headed into the Denbrough household was relieved, when instead of having to face Bill, he noted thankfully that the other teen was nowhere to be seen.

Stan was instead met with Georgie who was standing alone in the foyer, textbook in hand and seemed to have noticed his wondering eyes as he quirked a brow.

“Oh, he’s at baseball practice, he shouldn’t be back until you leave, but I thought you already knew that?”

Stanley’s heart ached at this boy’s naivety and complete lack of knowledge about how much of a fucking toad his brother was.

Feeling awful Stan stooped down, so he was directly in front of the boy and trying to be as gentle as possible, he softly said to him.

“Georgie, I don’t know if you are aware, but your brother and I are no longer friends and we haven’t been for quite a while”

He watched the small boy’s expression fall, and guilt immediately surged through Stanley’s body prompting him to do whatever he could to cheer the young boy up.

“Hmm, why don’t we go and finish off this work on Newton and if you work really well, I may let you have extra break time because I know you’re still pretty into Club Penguin right?”

Georgie’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of his favourite computer game and he took Stan’s hand guiding him up the stairs wordlessly. Stanley mentally thanked Mike for spending their previous Physics lesson filling him in on Georgie and his new interests, though it turned out he hadn’t changed all that much from five years prior.

The rest of the session went successfully, and Georgie worked extra hard, completely deserving his fifteen-minute break midway instead of his usual five minute one.

After their session came to an end and Stanley bid farewell to Georgie, he descended the staircase, binder in hand making his way into the foyer, when he bumped into the warm hard body of Bill. His choppy auburn hair was plastered to his forehead and he smelt an intoxicating mix of sweat and teenage boy. But before Stanley could let his emotions get to the best of him, he schooled his features into a look of feigned disinterest.

“Watch it Denbrough” he muttered and stalked out of the front door, ready to deal with Butch and his even shittier sons at the diner.

By the time the subsequent Thursday had come around, Stanley was exhausted. He had spent the past week actively trying to avoid Bill after their argument. It turned out ignoring someone you saw everyday was a lot harder than it sounded, and he’d been doing it for the past five years.

Stanley dreaded this session, knowing it was Bill’s one off day when he did not have baseball training, despite being the goddamn star player of the Derry High baseball team and as Stan entered Bill and Georgie’s house was beyond surprised by the sight in front of him.

Bill Denbrough stood nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. What was the most astounding thing for Stanley however, was the noticeable lack of Bill’s usual smirk and Stan could tell that he really needed to get something off his chest, after years of friendship he could read the guy like the back of his hand.

Hesitantly, Stanley dropped his bookbag onto the ground beside him as he rose a brow, waiting for an explanation from the auburn teen opposite him.

When without any preparation, Stan’s jaw dropped as Bill fell to his knees directly in front of him.

“S-Stan I-I-I’m so so s-s-sorry” tears had uncharacteristically started to stream down Bill’s face while he seemed to beg for his dear life. Stanley has only ever seen him cry once throughout their entire friendship.

“P-P-Please forgive m-me S-Stan”

“I-I-I should have n-never l-l-left you” he was full on begging and Stanley felt bad, knowing that the teen in front of him probably meant what he was saying and had never had to apologize to someone before. But Stan knew he couldn’t forgive him just yet, not after all the shit Bill had put him through.

So, Stan leant down and planted both his hands-on Bill’s shoulders, while lowering his voice and speaking almost sternly to him.

“Bill, do you remember Top Gun? We used to watch that fucking movie every weekend and I always dreamed of being Maverick and you let me because you cared about me and who I once was”

“I-I-I still d-do” spluttered out Bill, as Stan returned to his spiel

“And I don’t know what’s changed, but for some reason you decided that I was no longer cool enough for you and our conspiracies about Iceman having a massive crush on Maverick were never enough for you were they?”

“N-N-No they were a-always enough S-Stan” Bill was babbling at this point, barely able to form coherent statements.

Starting to feel increasingly bad and having decided the poor guy had clearly struggled enough, Stanley finally knelt down, so he was face to face with Bill and murmured.

“I forgive you”

“Y-y-you d-do?” Bill’s jaw was slack, as he replied, clearly surprised by Stan’s decision to forgive him.

A simple nod from Stan reaffirmed his fears as they encased each other in a much-needed hug and as they pulled away, felt their eyes meet.

They gazed into each other’s eyes; Stanley’s bright brown ones stared into Bill’s watery but vibrant cobalt orbs.

Together, they kept on staring and Stanley slowly felt himself lean in, flickering his gaze between Bill’s gorgeous eyes to his lips which were starting to look more appealing, the more he looked.

He licked his own lips in anticipation, wondering if Bill’s lips were really as plush as they looked, and he leant in even further. By now they were mere millimetres apart and Stan was so close, that he could count the tiny freckles scattered across Bill’s cheeks.

But before he could officially close the gap between them, Georgie bounded down the stairs, in his typical loud fashion and they sprung apart.

“Stan! Sorry I’m late, I was just finishing my penguin party at my igloo, it was epic”, the boy glanced between the two teens who were now what Stan deemed to be an appropriate distance apart and his lips curled upwards into a smile as he rose his eyebrows.

‘So, it looks like you two have finally made up then?”

Avoiding Bill, Stanley promptly nodded at the small boy’s question before changing the subject, remembering why he was even here in the first place.

“Georgie, why don’t we head up to the dining room now and start our work on The Age of Exploration?”

Picking up the bookbag he had initially dropped, Stanley followed Georgie upstairs and once he turned the corner felt a wide grin spread across his face, as he started to quietly giggle to himself.

* * *

It was like no time at all had passed after Bill and Stan rekindled what they once had.

Ben was at first overprotective of his best friend, knowing how much this guy had hurt him in the past, but Stanley knew this time _had_ to be different.

The next day at school, Stanley was beyond cautious. He worried that Bill had changed his mind and that nothing had really changed at all between them. But was instead surprised when Bill who was standing with his friends waved at them from where they were.

As Stan and Ben stepped out of Beatrice, Bill called over to them.

“H-hey g-g-guys w-wait up!”. They froze and Stanley felt his heartbeat pounding vociferously in his ears, he wouldn’t be surprised if Ben could hear it from where he was next to him.

“C-c-come over and m-meet my f-friends”, he dragged them over to his friends.

“T-this is B-B-Bev, Eddie, R-R-Richie, M-Mike and Sam” he exclaimed gesturing to them as Ben who was beside Stan flushed a rosy red when Bev smiled kindly at them.

Bill continued “d-do you w-w-want to s-sit w-w-with us at l-lunch?”

Stan glanced at Ben and together they nodded not expecting his invitation, they had been under the impression that they were never going to be cool enough for Bill Denbrough or his losers, so his offer was beyond them.

It turned out that all the losers apart from Mike and Sam had English first period, though they were mainly separated for the rest of the morning.

But by the time lunch came around despite some reluctance from Ben and Stan, they sat with the losers in the cafeteria and ‘clicked’ into the group almost seamlessly. They unexpectedly got along well with everyone, except Bill who wasn’t even there and was probably busy sucking faces with one of the cheerleaders in the janitor’s closet instead, Stanley thought resentfully.

Even though Bill and his tendencies infuriated Stanley to no end, he knew Bill was now his friend and that meant he was going to have to deal with his new hookups despite however they may have made him feel.

For the next few days, Stan and Bill fell back into the rhythm which they once had, and Stanley found himself contemplating several times how much he had really missed this.

They would always text or chat, as if no time had passed at all and would often have deep conversations that were beyond real and at times incredibly profound.

Bill talked about his parents and their aspirations for him to follow in their steps and to study law at Harvard. But Stan knew his true passion lied in writing stories, it always had.

Stan told him about Butch and his sons and their destruction of the stability he once had. Stanley still had Ben as his best friend, but Bill was different to talk to, he was assertive, trustworthy, and extremely endearing which made him incredibly easy to talk to.

Stanley doesnt know how he went so long without Bill around; the guy is so charming and likable, it's truly addicting and he finds himself starting to crave even the smallest interactions that he has with him. 

In the classes they shared together, Bill and Stan would pass each other notes when Stanley knew they shouldn’t. Bill had always brought out the danger and _excitement_ in Stanley’s life, even as a child. Though in spite of this, Stan still maintained his good grades, no friend was ever going to come between him and his 4.0 (more like 4.4 GPA)

Bill and the other losers (yes, Ben and Stan were in the early stages of officially becoming losers along with Sam) had even started to frequent “Kosher like me”, often going there once school was finished and giving Stan company that he was forever thankful for.

Nearly every time Stanley would arrive for tutoring at the Denbrough’s Bill would be there to entertain him, as Georgie prepared the dining room for their session and the more time they spent together the more Stanley started to realise, how fucking beautiful his friend had always been.

He had these big blue eyes that Stan swore were the devil tempting him and his floppy russet hair, literally always looked like it came straight out of a shampoo commercial.

What Stan would do to run his fingers through his hair and see if it was really as soft as it looked.

He bet it was.

Stanley knew he’d be lying if he said his friend wasn’t hot.

But he could not believe that he was only now starting to realise _how_ hot he had become.

After entering high school Bill’s awkward and gangly limbs had grown and he became lean and increasingly defined. He was gorgeous which was a word Stan knew he would never typically use to describe Bill before.

But now, the guy looked like a fucking god and it wasn’t fair in the slightest.

Bill’s physical transformation affected Stanley so much that it was starting to become a problem. When Stan should be studying, the other teen would pop up in his thoughts and refuse to fucking leave.

Whenever they were in the cafeteria at lunch and Bill was having one of his many rants, Stanley would often find himself staring at Bill and in a trance, dreaming about peeling off his shirt and capturing his lips, leaving hickeys all over his glistening and too tempting neck, warning everyone that Bill Denbrough was his and had always been.

Sure, the physical attraction was hard, Stanley could admit that, but dear god were the butterflies something entirely different. For some reason, even the thought of the auburn teen would send a plethora of butterflies or some other fast paced and winged creature throughout his body that would _refuse_ to leave. Stanley hadn’t felt butterflies about someone since fifth grade when he had a crush on a girl named Patty who moved out of Derry at the end of the year.

Besides, its not like the guy even realises how attractive he is, sure he can be cocky as fuck, but Stan’s come to learn that in the presence of his friends he is humble and sweet, never acting the way he does in front of his other peers or he assumes his latest hookup.

But then there is the way that he acts just in front of Stan.

Throughout the span of their newfound and in ways renewed friendship Stanley started to observe changes in the other teen’s behaviour when it was just the two of them.

At first it was playful, Bill had always craved physical contact and affection, Stan supposed it was because his parents, Zach and Sharon Denbrough were never around and always working on a new case.

They were simple touches at first, a hug or a hand on Stan’s arm as a form of comfort but then, Stanley doesn’t know when, but at some stage it shifts.

It shifts, to purposeful, lingering hands and wandering eyes that Stanley can’t help but think about.

Sure, Bill Denbrough has always been a flirt, that’s nothing new but the trouble for Stan is that he can _never_ tell if the auburn teen is flirting with him or just being his usual playboy self.

He likes to think that Bill reciprocates his feelings, but he knows it is most likely not the case and instead selfishly takes what he can from him, stolen glances and shared secret moments.

Georgie Denbrough isn’t an idiot, despite the fact that he has a tutor for two subjects thank you very much.

He has learned that he can spot stupidity and blatant pining from a mile away and by now is almost an expert in having to deal with his older brother and tutor who cannot seem to communicate their feelings for the life of them.

The small boy cannot count the amount of times he has had a tutoring session and bolted downstairs, ready to tell Stan that they can start their session in a minute.

When he freezes, observing the two completely hopeless teens in front of him.

It’s always the same things which makes it the all the more agonising to watch.

Stanley is always flustered, and Bill is opposite him with his signature smirk plastered across his features. They are always mere millimetres apart and so close to kissing, its beyond frustrating.

Georgie notes, that they are always in their own little bubble and he smirks, patiently waiting for his turn with Stanley.

By now, its like a routine and as much as he loves seeing them uselessly pine over each other, he hopes they can figure their shit out before it’s too late.

* * *

For the most part, Stanley thinks he can control himself around Bill, knowing that he thankfully hasn’t been stuck in a situation with him where he has been forced to confront his feelings for the russet teen .

But he always thinks back to that _one_ tutoring session where Stan swore the world was full on fucking with him and enjoying his pain and most probable one-sided pining immensely .

After an endless amount of tutoring sessions with Georgie, Stan was not prepared for Bill to return home early one Monday afternoon.

That was something which rarely happened, but what made it all the worse was his sudden decision to have a shower in the bathroom closest to the dining room. It was so close indeed that there was only one lone wall separating Stan and Bill, from what Stanley could tell.

That fact itself was beyond distracting, as images of a naked Bill plagued Stan’s thoughts, but he forced these _highly_ inappropriate thoughts down into the very back of his brain as he sat with Georgie at the dining room table determined to finish off their unit on Newton’s Laws of Motion.

All was fine until Stanley announced that their session was over and stalked past the bathroom, ready to head down the main staircase before completely colliding with a certain half naked teen.

Stanley cursed himself for not realising that the shower had been turned off for quite a while and he felt his mouth go completely dry at the sight he had practically rammed into.

Bill’s hair was slightly damp, and his chest was fucking glistening with water droplets running down his body in an almost slow-motion fashion, as Stanley unabashedly ran his eyes over his form _very_ appreciatively.

He also smelled incredible and Stanley took a deep breath, letting the guy’s incredibly addictive scent fill his nostrils, as he tried to memorise the way he smelled for future reference.

Not only did Bill smell divine, he was also fucking ripped and Stan’s jaw dropped when he took in the other teen’s highly defined six-pack and his only form of modesty, which was a flimsy towel securely wrapped around his waist, leaving _very_ little to the imagination.

Though much to his chagrin he heard Bill clear this throat, which provoked Stanley, finally reminding him about where he was and who’s body, he had been busy ogling at.

Mortification seeped through his pores as he glanced up and met the eyes of Bill who was smirking and clearly very amused by Stanley but was not prepared for the storm that was Bill’s eyes. His usual clear ocean blue eyes were clouded over completely and had significantly darkened as if he was _turned on_ by Stanley gawking at him.

Stanley felt fire, while he clenched his jaw unbelievably turned on and wishing that he could leave but instead remains, seemingly paralysed under Bill’s stare.

The corridor was thick with tension, so thick indeed that Stan suspected he could cut it with a dick. But before he could fully bring himself to think about Bill's dick, he was disrupted by Georgie who had started to giggle relentlessly behind him.

Stanley realised in that moment that Georgie must have decided to follow him down the stairs with the intention to give him a proper goodbye but had instead witnessed the rather intense staring session that his older brother and tutor had gotten themselves into. 

Not only had he made a fool of himself in front of Bill, but now Georgie had even caught him staring at Bill like he was some touch-starved psycho.

Beyond humiliated, Stanley brushed past Bill, marveling at the spark he felt as their shoulders touched.

He then looked back at Georgie and bid him a final goodbye, still completely ignoring Bill’s intense gaze before he sprinted down the stairs, as fast as he possibly could in desperate need of a cold and _long_ shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R.I.P. Club Penguin you will be sorely missed.
> 
> Also, that ending got a little steamier than initially planned (so you're welcome I guess??)
> 
> Thank you for still reading this fic it means so much!!
> 
> See you next update :)


	4. Chapter 3

Ben and Stan stood, situated beside Beatrice in the school carpark, as they prepared to head into Derry High in all of its shitty glory.

Together they made their way through the school, focusing on locating the other losers, but after searching for them in all of their usual places, were unable to find them.

So instead, Stanley followed Ben to his locker as they listened to the daily notices which were being blasted over the school loudspeaker.

A girl from the student council named Audra was busy yapping away.

“Just a reminder guys, the Halloween bash is in two days and it’s still not too late to buy tickets, you can get them from outside the libr-”

Stanley rolled his eyes at her peppiness as he zoned out, completely disregarding the rest of her announcements.

The school dances that were hosted by Derry High at The Falcon (the only country club in all of Derry) had always been overhyped in his opinion and he’d completely forgotten about this one in particular, mainly because to his complete disinterest in all of the dances in general.

Their school had always taken Halloween seriously, with the student council hosting a Halloween masquerade bash each year, which encouraged everyone to dress up as a character and to wear a mask as part of their costume.

The anonymity of it all was always part of why each year it was such a success.

It seemed like Ben had forgotten about the Halloween bash as well because once Audra had finished her spiel over the loudspeaker, he had leant against his locker frantically coming up with ideas for costumes he could wear. In his new hurried state, Ben also took to trying to convince Stanley to go to the dance with him, even though Stan knew Butch would never allow him.

The guy had never let him go in the past and he doubted this year would be any different even though it was his senior year.

After lingering at Ben’s locker for a while, Stanley and Ben eventually met up with the rest of the losers as they piled into their classroom for first period English.

The rest of the morning went by without a hitch and by that lunch, Audra’s reintroduction of the Halloween dance was the sole focus of conversation for the losers who were busy arranging costumes and carpooling for the night.

Ben sat quietly at the table, scribbling in his little red notebook that he always kept tucked away in his backpack. He spent so much of his time, doodling and scrawling in that thing.

Stanley knew Ben had as of recent been writing a poem for Beverly, expressing his complete admiration and love for her, he had always been romantic in that kind of way.

Bill who was seated next to Stanley nudged him leaning in close, his minty breath was warm and so close to Stanley’s ear that he swore he might pass out. Stan’s eyes narrowed onto Bill, as he tried to ignore the increasing thumps of his heartbeat which were starting to echo through his ears.

From where he already was, Bill leant in even further, delighting in the way that Stanley shivered at their proximity and his voice lowered while he whispered “I-I-I’ll fly w-with you”.

It took Stanley a few moments to even comprehend what Bill had said, too caught up in the closeness of their immediacy, but as he finally understood the excerpt, his lips curled into a smirk in response.

“I thought you were too cool for Top Gun?”

By now they were beyond close, and Stanley felt his palms start to go clammy as he nervously wiped them onto his pants, just for something to do.

“N-No S-S-Stanley you s-said I w-was, I n-n-never did”.

“That may be true” Stanley said feverishly while he continued “but that still doesn’t explain your sudden and random reference to the film Top Gun”

“W-Well you w-w-were right, we h-haven’t seen T-Top Gun in years and I t-think we s-s-should watch it a-again some t-t-time, just the t-two of u-us”

“B-Besides” Bill winked at him “I-I have t-t-the need f-f-for s-speed”. Stanley worried his bottom lip, trying to come up with a suitable reply as he mulled over the prospect of _finally_ doing something with Bill, just the two of them _almost like a date_.

But before he could answer, their conversation was tragically interrupted by Eddie and Richie across the table.

Richie had been relentlessly asking Eddie to be his date to the dance and Eddie kept rejecting him, clearly not recognising the sincerity of the other teen’s persistence or his real feelings. Richie’s feelings which were clearly reciprocated by Eddie, that much was beyond obvious. 

A wave of unusual silence fell over the table for a moment when Richie seemed to have finally given up on his pursuit, before the lunch bell rang signalling the end of lunch as students started to pour out of the cafeteria.

While Stanley rose from his seat, ready to head to AP Calculus, he bumped into an angry Patrick and an even more furious Henry beside him. Stan bit the inside of his cheek, already dreading whatever interaction they were going to have.

Henry leant down harshly, practically spitting into Stan’s ear

“You’ve been hiding from us haven’t you, you useless fucker?”

Before Stanley could speak, Bill stood up beside him glaring at Henry and Patrick, before shifting his attention to Stan. 

“S-Stanley, is e-everything okay h-h-here?”

Stan shot him a fleeting glance, his eyes darting back and forth while he tried to silently scream for help.

After a minute, Bill who must have read his extreme discomfort, silently grabbed Stanley’s hand and guided him past Henry and Patrick which were now seething with anger as they watched Stan and Bill walk off, going to their next class together.

The rest of the afternoon flew past rather smoothly, except when Stan returned home to an extra mad Butch who was beyond irritated at Stanley, probably because of Henry and Patrick’s whining about Stan and the events that had transpired at lunch.

Stanley was not surprised in the slightest when Butch’s punishments that afternoon were worse than usual. By the end of the evening he was seconds away from coughing up blood and was barely able to heave himself up the stairs and into the attic where he slept.

While he laid in bed late that night he wondered, about how much longer he would be able to deal with Butch and his sons before he lost it. He had six months until graduation and until he finally turned eighteen, but it seemed to be taking forever.

Though he was glad, that he still had Ben and now Bill and the rest of the losers by his side.

He also had the love and support of the workers at the diner who were the closest thing to family he had truly experienced over the past five years age.

Desperately wanting to sleep away his misery, Stanley could not, his mind was too occupied with could be’s and possibilities and visions of a certain auburn teen with dreamy eyes that filled his dreams as he finally drifted away from consciousness at some point.

* * *

The next day at Derry High, Ben and what seemed to be the entire school, eagerly prattled on about the Halloween dance that was the following day.

The rest of the school day was relatively normal and when the afternoon came for Stanley to tutor Georgie, he was greeted by Bill standing alone in the foyer of the Denbrough household.

Bill’s clothes looked a little dishevelled and he was sporting a small bashful smile, which Stanley couldn’t help but find absolutely adorable. His hair even looked like it had been combed back and Stan watched Bill as he awkwardly remained where he was, with one hand behind his back, hiding something from Stanley.

Hoping that Bill wasn’t still trying to apologize even weeks later, Stan crossed his arms over his chest as Bill nervously wet his lips with his little pink tongue, before he gradually brought his arm forward.

Stanley’s eyes widened comically as Bill revealed what he had been hiding, a bouquet of daisies, which Stan couldn’t believe he remembered, were his favourite flower.

Stan felt his heartbeat quicken with anticipation as Bill finally cleared his throat, starting to speak fast. So fast indeed that Stan could only grasp a few of the words he was saying, in amongst his full-on babbling. 

“I-I was j-j-just wondering i-if you’d want t-to I d-d-don’t know… bemydatetothedance”

Butterflies or more like _moths_ exploded in Stanley’s stomach while he stared at Bill, trying to decipher his cryptic message.

But when Stan eventually understood his proposal, he schooled his features into a neutral expression, not wanting to give away how he truly felt about Bill’s invitation as he re-clarified what Bill had said, his voice low and drawn out.

“You want me, to go to the dance with you, as your date?”

Bill nodded slowly and cautiously

Still determined to remain calm and not be bothered by the fact that the guy he had been into for ages actually wanted to go with him to the dance as his _date_ , Stanley kept his face neutral and devoid of any reaction.

Exasperated, Stanley rose his arm combing his fingers through his hair.

He wanted to go to the dance with Bill more than _anything_ but knew that Butch would never allow him.

Already dreading what he was going to say next, Stanley gave Bill an apologetic smile, knowing that he would probably just replace him with one of his latest hook-ups as his date anyways.

He was sure _Greta_ or whatever her name was would be beyond pleased to be his last resort.

“Look Bill, thanks for the invite but I’m actually not going to the dance, so I _can’t_ be your date”

Stanley watched as Bill’s shy grin instantly vanished and the rest of his profile hardened at Stan’s rejoinder.

Stan felt his stomach drop, immediately regretting what he had said and more than anything wanting to go with Bill to the dance. 

But he knew Butch would never let him which made it all the worse as he silently watched Bill attempt to pull himself back together, clearly not expecting Stanley’s _rejection_.

In a split second, the energy in the foyer shifted and Stanley watched Bill like a hawk as he carelessly dumped the bouquet of flowers he had been holding onto the floor directly in front of Stan, before swiftly turning on his heel and marching upstairs.

Standing alone in his thoughts for a moment, Stanley was brought out of his trance by Georgie who he noted must have headed downstairs at some stage.

“Stan” he was tugging on Stanley’s sleeve “can we please get this over with, I don’t want to do tutoring today” Georgie whined as they started to make their way up the stairs.

Honestly, Stanley thought to himself, that makes two of us.

* * *

Stanley spent the rest of the evening replaying the scenario over in his head countless times, instead of writing his essay on Romeo and Juliet which was due the following week.

He glared at his computer screen in frustration, wishing that Bill Denbrough could be just another fuck boy who didn’t care about anyone but himself. But Stanley knew, he would _never_ be like that and hated the pain that had been etched across Bill’s face so clearly and was by now permanently imprinted into Stan’s brain.

Finally convincing himself to get _some_ sleep, Stanley hastily shut his laptop and laid in his bed, forcing himself to get some rest. He knew that Bill would probably be in a shitty mood the next day and so Stan reasoned with himself, knowing that the more sleep he got the more energy he would have when dealing with Bill and his moodiness.

When morning arrived, Stanley crossed off another day on his wall calendar before staggering downstairs into the kitchen (still slightly limping from his beating several days prior). He brought out a fry pan from the bottom cupboard, heating it up while he listened to Butch who was in the living room with Henry and Patrick and busy bragging, about his plans for that evening which included going to several casinos, drinking lots of booze and even spending some ‘quality time’ with a few ladies of the night.

Stan cringed at Butch and his sons who clearly admired him, as he continued cooking breakfast before Butch eventually cleared his throat and looked over at Stanley, shifting all of his attention onto him.

Henry and Patrick also moved their focus over to Stan who was now heading over to the fridge, searching for eggs before cracking a few noisily into the sizzling pan.

Silence filled the house for a moment before Butch’s coarse and punitive voice, cut through the tension.

“So, Stan, my boys tell me there’s the Halloween bash at the Falcon tonight, were you plannin on going?”

Stan furiously shook his head knowing Butch’s mind games by now and his expected response.

“Good boy” Butch grinned in what Stan guessed was an attempt of a friendly manner “that reminds me, I’m goin to need to you on closing up duty at the diner tonight, so don’t you even think about sneaking away from your chores you underserving shit”

“It’s not like he even has friends anyways” Henry blurted out “he always hangs around with that fat fuck, probably sucking each other off in their free time”

Butch looked over at them sharply, but Stanley watched as an expression of _pride_ started to spread across his features which was totally out of character for Butch and absolutely disgusted Stan.

Stanley clenched his fists, so tight that crescent moons had began imprinting onto his palms while he stayed silent, beyond fed up with their bullshit and insults about Ben. He could deal with their verbal abuse towards him, but the second his friends got involved his rage became tenfold.

Beyond angry, Stan finished plating up breakfast as speedily as he could before bringing the plates over to the dinner table where Butch and his sons had seated themselves.

Once breakfast was finished, Stanley completed his chores before darting out the front door and was as usual greeted by Ben and Beatrice while he made his way to the passenger seat before Ben drove off.

Stan spent the rest of the drive filling Ben in on the events that had occurred the previous day regarding Bill.

As they pulled up into the Derry High carpark, Ben and Stanley were immediately met with Bev who was bright and chirpy, clearly excited for the dance that evening.

Following her lead, they made their way down the hallway and into their English class, bumping into the other losers on the way and still not seeing Bill.

Halfway through the period, a very unruly and flushed Bill entered the classroom, ignoring the attention of their teacher and classmates, as he strode past Stan and the rest of the losers, without looking at them.

Stanley bet he’d been in the janitor’s closet with one of his hookups and had lost track of time. It was so _typical_ of Bill and it hurt, seeing that even his supposed feelings for Stan weren’t enough of a catalyst to stop his fuckboy behaviour.

Stanley peeked over at Bill and hated how heavy his heart felt in that moment.

Knowing that Bill was most definitely still pissed at him, Stan decided to let him cool off, choosing not to talk to or communicate with him for the rest of the morning.

As expected, Bill did not eat lunch with the rest of the losers and was probably unaware of the recent drama that had emerged between Eddie and Richie.

Despite Richie’s continuous asking, Eddie had taken it upon himself to invite the only other openly gay guy at Derry High, Adrian Mellon to be his date to the dance.

Once Tozier had heard the news about Eddie’s date, he'd instead of convincing Eddie otherwise decided to take Adrian’s current ex-boyfriend Don Hagarty to the dance as his date.

As a result, the two had been ignoring each other and visibly envious that they weren’t going with each other to the dance which was beyond infuriating for Stan and the rest of the losers to watch. 

By the time AP Calculus had arrived, Stan was annoyed with Bill.

He had initially thought Bill needed space and time, but it was clear that he was more than just angry at Stanley.

So, as Ben and Stan sat in their class and Stanley noted where Bill was sitting in the far back corner of the classroom, he finally decided to risk communication with the other teen, whipping out his phone and sending him a text as their teacher wrote an example on the whiteboard in front of them.

_Are you okay? I feel like I haven’t seen you all day_

He glanced over at Bill who pulled out his own phone, reading Stan’s message and furrowing his brows under his snapback while typing back what Stan assumed was a response.

Stanley waited as patiently as he could, but as the lesson ended and Stan’s message remained read by Bill with no reply, Stanley decided that if Bill was going to play dirty, so would he.

* * *

Following the completion of their Physics lesson and the end of the school day, Mike offered to drive Sam and Stan to the diner, where the latter’s shift would be promptly starting.

Ben had an appointment directly after school and had promised Stanley that he would stop by at “Kosher like me” in a few hours, while the rest of the losers were carpooling with Bev and meeting Mike, Sam and Stan there. It also included Bill, who’s coach had claimed that they all deserved a night off and so he came along too, even though Stan knew he had been most definitely forced by probably Bev.

When the losers arrived at the diner (minus Ben of course) they piled into a booth, while Stanley tied on an apron, before greeting Marcia, Sally, Victor and Belch who worked alongside Stan at “Kosher like me”. Marcia and Sally were two very sweet and knowledgeable older ladies, who had both been working there for as long as Stan could remember.

Victor was the newest addition to the diner and his job was solely cooking out the back. He didn’t say much, but Stanley still appreciated his stoic nature, nonetheless.

Belch had been working at “Kosher like me” for the past four years and was the main tattoo artist in the tattoo parlour section of the diner. He was friendly with Butch and rough and sarcastic at first glance, but on the inside a softie with a big heart.

Stanley headed over to his friends, pen in hand ready to take their orders as usual as he jotted down their requests while they told him what they wanted.

But by the time it got to Bill, and Stanley had asked him for his preference, the other teen had nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, not fully responding.

“Bill?” Stan tried again and this time studied the other teen as he brought his phone out from his jean pocket and turned away from Stanley.

Bev nudged Bill, trying to get an answer from him but he remained, focused on the phone in front of him.

Stanley had to grit his teeth to stop himself from confronting Bill about being a jerk. He understood that Bill was hurt and had probably been rejected for the first time in his life by Stan.

But despite this, he knew that he did not deserve to be treated the way which Bill had been handling him, ignoring his existence and then acting like a douche.

What he would give to go to the dance that evening and peg this asshole down a few notches, showing him that sometimes you don’t get what you want in life and that you need to suck it up.

The other losers watched their interaction with their brows quirked, which caused Stan to flush a vibrant scarlet before he hurried away. As he sped walked away, he tore off a page from his notepad and handed it to Victor in the kitchen, whilst Stanley got busy getting their drinks.

By the time five o clock rolled around and the losers had been at “Kosher like me” for what they deemed to be long enough, they all (except for Bill who was _still_ ignoring him) bid Stanley farewell before they headed outside to their cars, promising to tell him all about the dance.

Once they left, Stanley resumed his usual duties, serving customers and cleaning up after they went.

His responsibilities at the diner busied him and he completely lost track of time, that was until Henry, Patrick and Butch sauntered through the front door of the diner at nine thirty, being the epitome of dramatic.

Henry and Patrick looked ridiculous in their costumes as Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber. Stanley was certain they had no idea about how dumb they looked or how stupid their characters truly were and had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing in their faces.

Butch was behind them, dressed up in a suit which Stanley had only ever seen him wear once before, on the day he got married to Stan’s mother.

Stanley took a glimpse at Butch’s pant pocket and noted that it was stuffed with cash, which he knew most likely contained his tips from working at the diner, over the past few months.

Making his way over to the bar section of the diner, Butch went behind the counter and opened up the fridge containing all of the alcohol before he helped himself to a bottle of beer, guzzling it down in one swift motion.

Butch then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slammed down the empty bottle onto the counter, before gesturing to Stanley and his sons to come over to the bar.

With his palms flat on the bench out in front of him Butch leant over, staring dead straight into Stan’s eyes from where he stood on the opposite side of the counter.

Marcia and Sally glanced at each other from across the diner concerned, knowing how poorly Butch treated Stanley and how violent he could get.

Butch’s face morphed into a snarl as he brought his lips right up to Stan’s ear murmuring to him.

“Now Stanley, the boys will be at the dance and I will be out, but don’t you think for a fucking second that you will be relieved of your duties or that you can sneak away you pathetic brat”

A beat of silence passed before he continued.

“we will be back by 12 sharp and if you are not here for _any_ reason, I will make sure to it that you never see your graduation and that you will forever work for me”

“Besides” Butch grabbed Stanley’s bicep and squeezed it as tight as he could, digging his nails into the flesh while Stan bit his bottom lip so hard that it nearly drew blood.

“You wouldn’t want to make me mad, would you?” Stanley violently shook his head, hissing in pain from Butch’s grasp, when at last Butch finally released his grip.

Butch then grabbed the empty beer bottle he had put on the counter, and without any warning hurled it onto the tiled floor, smashing it into thousands of pieces.

“Take this as a warning Stanley, we’ll be back at midnight and _you’d better be here_ ” gritted out Butch, making sure to accentuate every word before he strode out of the diner with his sons in tow, not looking back at Stanley or the mess he had just made.

Stanley winced as the few customers in the diner watched Butch and his sons depart, in total disbelief while Belch (who wasn’t getting many customers in the tattoo parlour section) came over into the main section of the diner, having heard Butch’s instigated drama.

After Belch and Sally went around to the customers, reassuring them that nothing was wrong, even though there _clearly_ was, they eventually settled back down.

Stanley who was fed up with Butch, dashed into the back of the kitchen, grabbing a broom and a dustpan as he hunched over the broken pieces trying to rapidly clean up Butch’s chaos.

While he stayed, crouched over and irately cleaning up the mess, he felt Marcia come up behind him and softly place her hand onto his arm, as a form of comfort he supposed.

Her voice was calm and soothing as she asked him “are you okay honey?”

Worked up and embarrassed, Stanley turned around trying to keep his sanity in check, before he plastered a clearly false smile across his face and nodded his head as convincingly as he could.

But as he looked directly into her warm brown eyes, he knew she saw through all of his bullshit, she always had.

“You shouldn’t let Butch talk down to you like that, you deserve so much better than how he treats you”.

She had always been an advocate for Stanley telling him that he deserved better, even when he found himself starting to believe Butch and his cruel words.

With that, he dropped the broom and dustpan he had been holding and wrapped his arms around her tightly, despite ironically dwarfing her petite figure.

He stood there in her embrace, cherishing the warmth of her love and support, when they finally parted and she stole the broom and dustpan from the floor before she shot him a wink and mouthed to him “Go take a break, please”

Guiltily he sat in one of the booths as Sally served him a chamomile tea and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have these incredible people as part of his family.

When the clock in the main section of the diner struck ten o clock, Stanley was feeling a whole lot better, but was in no way prepared for his best friend to unexpectedly burst through the front door of “Kosher like me” demanding attention.

Ben was decked head to toe in a black suit ensemble complete with a matching cape and mask that made him unrecognisable.

Confused about why Ben had turned up at such a late hour, Stanley tilted his head before his eyes shifted to the garment bag that his best friend had been holding.

Trying to ignore the elephant in the room, which was surrounding the contains of _that_ garment bag, Stan rose his eyebrows while he questioned Ben.

“What happened to and I quote being ‘a few hours late’”?

Ben flushed as he proceeded to apologize and Stanley felt his initial anger dissipate, though he still couldn’t erase his thoughts from whatever was in _that_ bag.

“Jay thought he had reserved these two costumes for me but he ended up selling the cape to some guy by accident and so he spent ages rummaging through his storage out the back for a replacement one because without it I could not be Romeo Montague, according to him”

He took a breather before he recommenced his story.

“and so after fucking finally locating this damn back up cape, he then told me that the sunglasses apart of this costume” he gestured to the garment bag “had a screw loose and so we went on yet another treasure hunt trying to find a new pair and eventually we found one. The one good thing though, was that these were on the house, it turns out he owed me a few too many favours”. Ben smirked before seeming to finally remember that he was still carrying the garment bag as he wordlessly handed it over to Stan.

“This is yours. Hurry up and get changed its time for us to go”

Slightly jaw slacken, Stanley took the bag as he finally comprehended the fact that this was a costume for _him_ and could not believe the crazy lengths which his best friend had gone to for his sake.

“This is for me? Ben you _know_ I can’t come to the dance tonight”

Ben’s features shifted from a smirk into a pout before Marcia who must have heard Stanley’s declaration, made her way over to where they were standing with Sally and Belch behind her.

“Stan, what’s this about a dance?” she asked

“wait you didn’t even tell them?” Ben sighed disapprovingly “we were _supposed_ to go to the annual Halloween bash that is tonight, but _someone_ doesn’t want to go”

“Come on Stanley, you have to go” Sally urged him, and Belch nodded in agreement.

“I would” Stan began “but Butch would eat me alive if I so much as took a step outside of this diner”

“You can’t always live your life in fear Stan” Belch spoke, right before Sally cut in, “it’s not like you ever do anything for yourself, the least you deserve is one night to relax and have some fun”

Everyone except for Stan nodded in unison as he began to feel overwhelmed, wanting to go but still worrying about Butch.

“Stan” Marcia remarked softly “your parents didn’t leave this earth wanting you to be unhappy, they would have wanted you to go tonight”

“But what if I get caught?” his resolve had significantly weakened, and he was starting to believe their encouragement, _he deserved a night off goddammit._

“Trust us Stan” even uttered Victor who had come over from the kitchen at some point to join in on their conversation.

“We’ll cover you, don’t you worry about that” Belch insisted.

“Yeah! Butch will have to get through us before he lays another finger on you” Sally assured him and that spurred on Stanley as he made his final decision, he fucking deserved to go to this dance and have some fun.

“You know what?” Stanley divulged “I actually think I will go to the dance after all”

As they all (and he meant everyone, even a few of the customers) cheered, he felt beyond ecstatic and almost free, in a way which he hadn’t for the longest time.

Stan turned to Ben expectantly

“So, I’m actually very curious about this costume that you got me” he started, and Ben’s eyes lit up, already in his realm.

* * *

Stanley fidgeted in the passenger seat of Beatrice, from where he and Ben were seated in the carpark of The Falcon.

He pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose for the thousandth time, having only just gotten used to the whole level of darkness they brought him.

After quickly changing into his costume and leaving the diner to a round of applause and proud hooting from Belch, Ben and Stan had driven straight to The Falcon, where they were currently sitting.

He readjusted the watch on his wrist, noting how late it already was as he set an alarm on it for 11:45. He knew that he was still needed back at the diner by 12 sharp or Butch would not only kill him, but also bring back his dead body to mop the floors of the diner.

Taking in a slow but _excited_ breath, Stanley followed Ben in through one of the backdoors of The Falcon.

They walked past several fellow seniors who were busy making out and headed towards the staircase, leading down onto the dance floor where everyone was dancing to some generic pop song he couldn’t care less about.

Before they reached it however, Ben leant over “just remember to enjoy yourself Stan and if you ever want to leave just shout and I’ll be there”, he then gave Stan an encouraging thumbs up.

Feeling newly inspired and confident, Stanley moved to the top of the staircase, still under the illusion that Ben was with him.

One moment he was preparing himself to go down the stairs, but the next, all eyes were on him and he was squinting beyond belief from under his sunglasses. Shit.

A single blinding spotlight landed on him, when he finally realised, that he was all alone. Double shit.

Stanley looked deep into the crowd of his fellow peers and felt his breath hitch as his covered eyes met the electrifying blue of Bill Denbrough’s unwavering ones.

Triple shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its absolutely crazy to believe that I’m already halfway through writing this fic!
> 
> So thank you so much everyone for supporting me through this process and for continuing to read my story.
> 
> I hope that you guys enjoyed this monstrosity of a chapter and I’ll see you next update 😊


	5. Chapter 4

Bill’s magnetic orbs bore mercilessly into Stanley’s shielded ones as he stayed where he was at the top of the staircase, seemingly paralysed under the glaring spotlight and from the attention of his peers.

Stan hadn’t noticed before, but even the DJ had stopped the trashy pop song he was playing so that he could stare at him with everyone else.

Cursing Ben for disappearing with no warning, Stanley took his time as he headed down the staircase, while keeping his eyes locked onto Bill’s.

He was starting to crave the way that Bill was watching him. It was with so much intensity that he was beginning to feel downright giddy and like a twelve-year-old discovering love for the first time.

He also realised that Bill was the only student in the entire place who was not wearing a mask or something to hide who he was, which made identifying him endlessly easier for Stan.

Bill’s sunglasses which Stanley assumed substituted for a mask (like his own) were neatly folded onto the top of his costume though from where he was, Stanley could not see his costume in its entirety.

By the time Stan had reached the bottom of the staircase, the glances of his contemporaries had dissipated, and the DJ had resumed playing his song from before.

While he stood nervously shifting at the landing on the bottom of the stairs, Stanley bit his lip and nervously carded a hand through his hair, already dreading his decision to come to the dance.

He looked back over to where he thought Bill was and sighed when the other teen was nowhere to be seen.

It was so typical of Bill, always showing interest for a second, but then ditching the moment commitment got involved.

Contemplating sending Ben a text following his whereabouts, Stanley was about to bring out his phone from his pocket before he collided with a very pissed Eddie Kaspbrak.

Eddie was wearing a black mask, a white button-down shirt, black pants and was sporting an incensed scowl.

Clearly not recognising Stan’s real identity, Eddie shot him an apologetic smile though it was very much strained.

Noticing the absence of Adrian and Richie, Stanley questioningly rose his eyebrows, as a series of questions threatened to fall from his mouth.

But he managed to stop himself before speaking, knowing that Eddie was definitely not in the mood to be interrogated by some guy _who_ _he didn’t even know_ , so Stan kept his mouth shut with all of his willpower.

Without saying anything else, Stan watched Eddie stalk back off into the crowd and that was that.

Now standing alone once again, Stanley faced the staircase as he took out his phone, this time frenetically managing to send Ben a hurried, _where are you?_

After jamming his finger onto the send button and tucking his phone back into his pocket, Stan jumped at the warm contact of an unsuspecting hand on his forearm.

He could tell solely from the butterflies that had erupted through his body that it was Bill.

Breathing in through his nose, Stanley turned around and unsurprisingly came face to face with the eldest Denbrough, the devil himself.

Bill’s cobalt eyes were twinkling, and Stanley ran his gaze over the russet teen’s costume in appreciation before flushing in realisation.

They were wearing the same costume and he idly noted how they were meant to be Iceman and Maverick from Top Gun.

Of course, they were meant to be fucking enemies turned friends turned most probable lovers, it was just _his_ shitty luck.

Bill licked his lips as he in turn lazily checked out Stanley before letting a downright _dangerous_ smirk spread across his handsome features.

“What do you want?” Stan lowly murmured into Bill’s ear as he leant inwards so he could hear the other teen’s response through the music that was currently being blasted in the hall.

He felt his heartbeat start to quicken at their closeness and suppressed a smirk as Bill visibly shuddered before composing himself. It seemed that Bill was just as affected by their immediacy as Stan was and for that, he was secretly pleased.

“D-Do I k-know y-y-you?” Bill asked him in return, not answering his question “y-you s-s-seem so f-familiar”.

Stanley wanted to laugh in his face, not believing that not even Bill could tell who he was, considering they had seen each other only a few hours ago.

But he figured he might as well make the most of this while he was here.

This would be the perfect way to peg this asshole down a few notches.

“I wouldn’t know, are you someone I _should_ know?” by now Stan’s speech had slowed, his voice taking on a sultry tone and Bill swallowed before retaliating, oozing confidence through his speech.

“y-yeah, I’m p-p-pretty well k-known around h-h-here”

Rolling his eyes, Stanley quickly countered with as much bite as he could muster “nah, not ringing any bells, besides it takes a lot for me to remember someone”

A beat of silence passed and Stan returned to scanning his eyes over their peers when with no warning Bill blurted out a rushed “d-do you w-w-wanna get o-out of h-here?”. He then extended his hand, moving his palm so that it enticingly faced upwards.

It was more than just an invitation; it was a challenge.

Intrigued by Bill’s offer and too deep-rooted to miss out this opportunity, Stanley took his hand as he marvelled at the way their hands perfectly slotted together, like they were _meant to be_.

As Stanley accompanied Bill through the group of students, he worried his bottom lip anticipating the events that would ensue.

Together they walked past the snacks table over to the far-left wall where several students were talking and standing around.

While they went by, Stanley spied Mike and Sam who were dressed as Hercules and Megara. They were propped up against the wall and appeared to be engaged in a serious conversation.

He wondered if their costumes were as ironic as his and Bill’s or if they had already figured out their obvious feelings for one another yet.

Still holding Bill’s hand, Stan followed him out of the hall to a small outdoor area where a number of their peers were smoking and getting high.

It seemed that the teachers who were chaperoning the dance had deliberately chosen to ignore this spot, probably ashamed by the behaviour of a large majority of Derry High’s students.

By this stage, Bill had resumed their chat deciding to start a game of ten questions with Stan. He was for some reason intrigued with Stanley and was persistent as he tried to figure out his true identity.

"I've g-g-got to k-know, do y-you go t-t-to Derry High?” Bill started curiously as he glanced over at Stanley, hope glistening in his baby blues.

Still not fully believing that Bill did not recognise him, Stan nodded his head. 

They carried on with their pursuit, as they strode past their fellow classmates, trying to find an ample spot to settle down.

After finally locating a place, Bill continued his questions by asking another, “s-so, you l-l-like Top G-Gun too h-h-huh?”

Fidgeting with the watch on his wrist instinctively, Stanley forced himself to not laugh at the irony of the situation.

“Yes, I actually grew up watching it, it was one of my favourites”

“R-Really? M-Me t-t-too” Bill replied visibly surprised as Stan observed him furrow his eyebrows together, it was like he was trying to put together the pieces of who Stan truly was.

“A-Are you s-s-sure I h-haven’t seen y-you b-b-before?”

Not trusting himself to speak, Stanley shook his head, though it felt hesitant and wrong as a lump began to build in his throat.

The deafening music from the hall was loud, but a lot more manageable from where they now were when Bill addressed him again, moving onto his next question.

“O-Okay then, t-t-tell me s-something a-a-about yourself t-that no o-one knows”

Clearing his throat, Stanley unsuccessfully tried to get rid of the stubborn lump that was there before he confessed to the other teen “well, not many people know, but I’m really interested in birds and birdwatching”

Bill looked over at him bereft of a reaction and settled his gaze onto Stan, his eyes scrutinising. Stan diffidently shifted, wondering if he had revealed too much about himself.

A moment of uncomfortable silence went by as Bill kept his attention trained on Stanley.

More quietude followed and Stan subconsciously bit the inside of his cheek, deciding for the first time to take control of the conversation.

He ended the awkwardness that had come about as he parroted Bill’s question back at him “so Bill, why don’t you tell me something about yourself that no one knows”.

That seemed to snap Bill back out of his trance as Stanley crossed his arms carefully watching Bill for his answer.

But what came out of Bill’s mouth was a surprise, even for Stanley.

The russet teen was now avoiding Stan’s stare and ran a hand through his hair before he softly mumbled “I-I hate playing b-b-baseball”

It was a small revelation sure, but for something that he supposedly loved doing, Stanley could not believe his ears.

Bill’s voice became louder as he continued “m-my parents s-s-seem to h-have t-this perfect v-vision of what I s-s-should be a-as a son, b-b-but I f-feel like I’m c-constantly disappointing t-t-them by n-not being l-l-like t-that”.

Stanley who had known Bill for ages, did know about his parents and how intense they could get, but hadn’t realised that even his passion for baseball was one of their ploys.

“At least they want you to do well” comforting people had never been one of Stan’s strengths, so he instead settled for rubbing soothing circles into Bill’s back. It had always helped in the past and he hoped Bill would just find his behaviour coincidental and not something that Stanley had done countless times before.

Bill looked at him, his eyes filled with a mix of appreciation and some other emotion Stan couldn’t pinpoint “I k-know this s-s-sounds w-weird, b-but I feel l-l-like I’ve known y-you for s-such a l-l-long t-time”

Fuelled by frustration, Stanley sighed, he really wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep hiding who he was from Bill.

Left alone with his thoughts for far too long, Stanley did not initially comprehend the familiar tune of Take My Breath Away, as it crooned its way in from the hall.

Still rubbing circles into Bill’s back, Stanley paused where he was as the lyrics washed over him, while Bill who was watching him turned scarlet, recognising the song and where it was from as well.

_Watching every motion_

_In my foolish lover’s gain_

They separated as Stan also started to redden, feeling the music and fidgeting with the watch on his wrist in anticipation.

_On this endless ocean_

_Finally, lovers know no shame_

Stanley glanced over at Bill who was intently focused on him, his eyes were clouded over, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

_  
Turning and returning  
To some secret place inside_

Bill kept his eyes trained on Stan and Stanley knew in that moment, that this was like one of his fantasies only a thousand times better. He hoped more than anything that this would end just like them with Bill’s lips finally meeting his own.

  
_Watching in slow motion  
As you turn around and say_

Caught up in his feelings, Stanley did not notice Bill come up behind him.

“C-Can I h-h-have t-this d-dance?” Bill asked bowing down and quirking a brow up at Stanley as he waited for permission.

His voice was wavering slightly and Stanley’s heart ricocheted in his chest, overcome with emotions.

Flustered, Stan nodded before Bill delicately held his hand while they got into position, starting to sway to the music in a predetermined rhythm.

_Take my breath away_  
_Take my breath away_

Bill gazed at Stanley, his eyes dreamy and mesmerising.

Stan’s cheeks were starting to hurt from how much he was smiling while he laid his head on Bill’s shoulder, admiring their corresponding breaths.

He could stay there forever, in the arms of the guy he loved, forever dancing to the soundtrack of their lives.

Bill moved his nose to smell Stan’s hair as he took a whiff before letting a low whimper escape him.

Raising his head off Bill’s shoulder, Stanley shot him a questioning look as they kept twirling together.

A cheeky grin ensued from Bill and Stan removed his hands from Bill’s grasp before resting them onto his shoulders. He marvelled at the electricity that coursed through his body at the contact.

Stanley’s eyes were staring deep into Bill’s when he suddenly felt obliged to ask the auburn teen another question, one which he had been yearning to ask him through all of their interactions that evening.

“Do you ever want to see me again?”

Bill did not answer back, but instead wistfully smiled at him as Stanley slowly felt himself lean in, noticing how Bill was mirroring his actions too.

Their breaths were now mingling together, and Stanley felt a surge of desire seep through his bones. He was going to kiss Bill the guy of his dreams and fucking enjoy it.

Leaning in, their mouths were now millimetres apart and Stan’s breath hitched, bracing himself for this moment when he would finally get to feel Bill’s lips against his own.

Stanley stared into Bill’s bright cobalt eyes and inched in even further, they were so close a- BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Stanley instantly jerked away from Bill as his eyes went wide like saucers. 

He glanced down at the watch on his wrist in total betrayal while it kept profusely beeping.

Of course, his fucking alarm had decided now was the perfect time for Stanley to leave he bitterly thought to himself, and he didn’t even get to kiss Bill first.

Finally managing to shut up his watch, Stan tossed Bill an apologetic grimace “I’m so sorry, I’ve got to go, but thank you for tonight”.

On a whim, Stanley quickly bent over, his cheeks comically flushed and heartbeat loudly throbbing in his ears when without any warning, he planted a lone kiss onto Bill’s cheek.

Dazed from Stanley’s unexpected action and still confused, Bill frowned at him, “y-you h-h-have to l-leave now? W-W-Where a-are you g-g-going”?

Turning away from Bill, Stanley softly spoke “back to reality”

Not taking a second look back at Bill, Stanley sped off into the hall, now acutely aware of the minutes on his watch as they slowly ticked by.

* * *

Despite only being at Derry High for a little over a month, Sam had to admit that it was already starting to feel like home, especially with the Losers by her side.

Considering that her family life was far from stellar, she really took refuge in this group of friends who were always there to cheer her up and to make her laugh.

She had particularly connected with Bev, as the only other girl in the group and they both frequently chatted about fashion and their crushes.

Sam had also developed a crush on Mike Hanlon, who was truly the kindest guy she had ever met. He listened to her and would ask her how her day was, genuinely curious about her and her life.

Sam had never met such a compassionate and sweet guy in her life before and was starting to find herself at a point of absolute torture.

She was pretty crazy about him (something Bev could attest to), but never knew if he was just being nice or if he was truly interested in pursuing something more with her.

She had been pining for weeks and was completely stunned when on the day of the dance, they had both unintentionally shown up as Hercules and Megara from Hercules which was possibly her favourite Disney movie of all time.

Sam hated how they looked like a couple despite not actually being together.

Each time somebody would comment on them and how cute they were as a couple, Sam started to feel worst and worst, hyper aware that he most likely did not reciprocate her feelings at all.

But even though Sam felt this way, she still stayed with him for the entire evening, call it pure stupidity or useless pining, Sam couldn’t tell but regardless, she stuck by his side hoping that he appreciated her company.

At some stage with Mike, she wondered by the snacks table, retreating to a spot against the wall. They stood laughing and conversing, just overall enjoying each other’s presence, and ignoring a certain flushed brunette as he hurried past them and into the crowd.

They were still in their bubble, when not even a minute later, a familiar dishevelled russet teen came rushing through, clearly on a mission while he also disappeared into the group seconds later.

Too caught up in Mike’s warm brown eyes, Sam did not witness this go down and wondered, if maybe she should be brave and ask him to dance, or even better ask him out, before some other girl whisked him away and she never got to see Mike Hanlon again.

* * *

Eddie Kaspbrak was furious.

Beyond mad, as he stormed around the hall, trying to locate one Richie Tozier.

Eddie’s date Adrian had stood him up and so had Richie’s as he found out only moments before.

He had been busy scrolling on Instagram and saw red at Adrian’s newest story from only a few minutes ago. It featured both Don and Adrian snuggled up together in a bed somewhere and was captioned with a bunch of kissy emojis.

So here he was, trying to find Richie and alert him of the news, though when he managed to finally track down the other teen, Eddie was pretty sure that he already knew.

Richie was clearly occupied, sucking faces with some girl who Eddie recognised from his geography class.

Impatiently tapping his best friend on the shoulder, he came face to face with unruly curls and a lazy smirk plastered across Richie’s infuriatingly handsome face.

Eddie felt his mouth go dry as he unabashedly ran his gaze up and down Richie’s body appreciatively, having not seen him since the diner that afternoon.

He was wearing a superman costume that accentuated the broadness of his shoulders very nicely, not that Eddie noticed or anything.

He also had on a small red mask, which did nothing to hide his identity.

It wasn’t Eddie’s fault that his friend was undeniably good looking and that he had unfortunately found himself head over heels for the asshole.

Forcing himself to bring his attention back up to Richie’s molten eyes, he observed Richie who had shifted his attention over to the girl he had separated from seconds ago and was currently standing beside him.

Eddie slowly turned to her, shooting her death glares as she finally seemed to take a hint before they watched her dart back into the crowd.

Richie rose a brow as he smirked at Eddie “wow Eds, looks like someone’s a little pissed tonight”

“My name is Eddie for the thousandth time and where have you been?” I’ve been trying to find you everywhere”

“Aww I’m flattered Eds, but I swung by your house to try and spend some quality time with Mrs K if you get what I mean. When she wasn’t there, I came back and found Judy over there who was more than willing to replace Mrs K and tickle my pickle among other things, before you so rudely told her to fuck off with your eyes”

Scrunching up his nose in disgust, Eddie retorted a response, not in the mood for Richie’s shit “well it was urgent besides your raging boner can wait. Have you checked your phone lately?”

“yeah Spageds, I saw that our dates decided to skip and definitely fuck themselves into oblivion”

Rolling his eyes, Eddie was internally relieved that Richie had not yet mentioned how Eddie had minutes before been downright ogling him like a horny pre-teen.

A moment of silence followed.

Eddie was trying to avoid Richie’s eyes which were now staring down at him and his costume, they were penetrating and making him nervous.

“What?” Eddie eventually asked him, unable to stop the heat from creeping up his neck and settling onto his face.

Richie’s lips curled up into a proud smile “what do you say Eds, would you do the honour of being the Louis Lane to my Superman?”

Eddie’s tension from before dissolved, this was clearly just some fucking joke for Richie. But that fact still didn’t stop him from bashfully smiling at Richie’s reference, he was comparing them to love interests and the universe was truly fucking with him now.

Eddie nodded as a slower song started to play over the speaker system before Richie bowed down, outstretching his hand towards him “would you care to dance Eddie?”

Dancing to a romantic slow song with his best friend had always been a central part of Eddie’s fantasies, though he was pretty sure Richie was only doing this out of sympathy because of the Adrian situation. _But he called me Eddie when he never does_ Eddie tried to convince himself otherwise.

Staring up into Richie’s expecting brown eyes, Eddie knew this was something he had to do for himself, so he could finally get over his downright humiliating and unrequired crush on his best friend which had been going on for far too fucking long.

“Sure Rich” he answered as nonchalantly as possible as he tried to ignore the wide and impossibly beautiful smile that bloomed across Richie’s features at Eddie’s reply.

Together they walked into the gathering, finding a suitable place before moving their bodies into position while they started to sway together.

Eddie loved it, being surrounded by Richie, while they danced twirling and sharing silent conversations just with their expressions.

Richie stared down at Eddie, his expression fond and eyes wistful, _it was_ _almost like he was enjoying this in the same way that Eddie was_.

Eddie felt his eyes start to darken at that thought and the depth behind how Richie was looking at him.

Screw getting over his crush. He wanted to kiss his best friend’s stupid face, right fucking now.

As the chords of the song eventually came to an end, Eddie leant up, whispering into Richie’s ear

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Gaging Richie’s reaction and noting the other teen’s eyes which had also significantly darkened, Eddie let Richie roughly take his hand and guide him out of the crowd, to a much quieter place.

* * *

Whipped.

Ben Hanscom was the epitome of fucking whipped and everyone could tell.

Okay, maybe _everyone_ was a bit of an overstatement, but certainly Stan knew and so did all of the other losers except for the sole object of his affections of course. That was the way of the world, everyone knew apart from the one person you actually wanted to one day know.

Beverly Marsh. Beverly Hanscom. Benjamin Marsh. Beverly Marsh-Hanscom. Beverly Hanscom-Marsh. Benjamin Hanscom-Marsh. Benjamin Marsh-Hanscom.

By now, they all sounded the same and he loved pretending she was his, when she realistically never would be.

For weeks now, he had been drafting and re-writing his feelings into that poem, trying to build up the courage for the Halloween Dance when he would _finally_ have the guts to confess to Bev and tell her how crazy in love he was about her.

Part of planning the perfect evening when he hoped she would reciprocate his feelings and they would together ride off into the sunset was choosing the perfect costume.

From a young age, Ben had always been a sucker for a good love story and Romeo and Juliet had always been his absolute favourite. So, he found that it was truly a no-brainer when he had decided to go as Romeo Montague to the dance, complete with a black cape and all.

But what he hadn’t anticipated was that Romeo and Juliet was also one of Bev’s favourites.

She looked like a vision, his palms were clammy, and he felt his mouth go completely dry at how incredible she looked in her crème dress, with her fiery red hair in delicate curls around her shoulders.

She stood there, by the snacks table toying with the hem of her dress, truly being so damn beautiful that he _knew_ he had to do something before some other guy got his grasp on her and whisked her away.

After arriving at the Falcon with Stan by his side Ben instantly ditched, he felt queasy and took off running to the nearest bathroom, locking himself in a cubicle and trying to knock some sense into himself.

He felt bad for leaving his best friend but knew that the second Bill laid his eyes on Stanley he would never leave him out of his sight and that Stan was safe.

Taking out his notebook from his pocket, Ben familiarised himself with the words he had spent months writing, hoping that he wasn’t going to chicken out once again and that he would finally get to tell or even _show_ Bev how much she meant to him.

After giving himself a pep talk _or maybe five_ , Ben eventually convinced himself to leave the bathroom _what the heck_ he told himself _if I’m going to die of rejection, I might as well do it tonight with my heart on my goddamn sleeve._

Thankful that he was dressed entirely in black and easily blended into the darkness, Ben carefully made his way down the far right side of the staircase, grateful that he was as invisible as thought and ready to finally be brave for once in his life.

As he arrived at the bottom of the staircase, Ben weaved in and out of the crowd, as he headed to the snacks table where Bev was still standing, she was now hunched over it with her back facing him.

Ben sucked in a deep breath as he reached the table, happy that she was alone as he cleared his throat

“You’re Bev right?” of course he knew who Bev was, but figured he might as well play himself up to be more mysterious than he actually was and not some loser who spent all his time pining after her.

She whirled around, her dress gracefully following in suit and he instantly flushed under his mask just from her eyes on him.

“Well, that depends on who’s asking?” a small smile was gracing her features and he felt the instant need to throw up. Of course she didn’t recognise him, she was incredible and so stunning and he was a nobody, that was all he was ever going to be.

“That’s besides the point” he smirked in a way that was so unlike him, he had to stop himself from rolling his own eyes at his behaviour “I was wondering if I could tell you something”.

She was now curious that was obvious, as her bright sapphire eyes lit up while she wordlessly nodded her head at his proposition.

Gesturing at her to follow him, he guided her through the crowd and back up the stairs where he had initially started, over past the bathrooms to an alcove in the wall which he had spotted before and decided would be the perfect place to confess his feelings for her.

Once they settled down in the alcove, the words that he had spent so long writing came tumbling out of his mouth

_“Your hair is winter fire_

_January embers_

_My heart burns there, too”_

He glimpsed back over at Bev who was staring at him and had her jaw dropped in total disbelief.

“Please tell me who you are”, she was begging at this point and he knew he should honestly just tell her but the larger part of him was saying no.

So instead he bent over and softly placed his lips on hers.

She remained unresponsive for a moment and Ben panicked, worrying that he had completely fucked things up, before he felt her lips start to move just as eagerly in response while she she kissed him back.

Running his hand through her soft auburn hair, Ben knew he could die happy, the woman of his dreams was kissing him and he nearly lost it as she let out a moan, sending him to an early grave.

They stayed there in each other’s embrace for far too long, sharing stories with one another and cherishing each other’s lips.

“come on we’ve got to go”

“WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!!”

Ben looked up and met the frantic eyes of his best friend who was impatiently hovering over them and Ben felt reality crash back onto him.

He immediately untangled himself from the auburn beauty beside him before leaning over and whispering into her ear “I love you”

He followed Stanley towards the back door which they came in through, without looking back at Bev who had no doubt a look of shock and pure confusion across her face.

* * *

He had to leave now.

That was the singular thought that ran through Stan’s head as he zoomed through the clumps of other students who were busy dancing, kissing and enjoying their carefree lives.

Bill was hot on his heels and he needed to go or else Butch was going to fucking skin him alive.

With his almost kiss still heavy on his mind, Stanley found himself climbing the stairs towards the back door of the Falcon where he had entered from.

Still not being able to find his best friend, Stan wondered if he should send him yet another text, as he quickly walked by the bathrooms searching for Ben.

But what he did not expect was to be met with the sight of his best friend holding and kissing Beverly Marsh.

Of course, he was proud that his friend finally had the courage to confess his true feelings to Bev, but he still really needed to leave and anxiously continued to check the watch on his wrist as each minute passed./p>

They had nine minutes to get back to the diner.

“Come on we’ve got to go” Stanley was trying to be nice, but when neither Bev nor Ben moved a muscle, he felt himself loose his shit just a little more.

“WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW”

Stanley was waving his hands in front of this hopeless couple as Ben eventually seemed to snap into his senses before he removed himself from Bev’s embrace and bent down whispering something into her ear and then quickly stood up following Stan.

They passed the bathroom promptly and were approaching the back door when Stanley reached up, pulling off the sunglasses which he was surprisingly still wearing and stuffed them into his pant pocket as he picked up the pace, now full on running towards the door.

He heard Bill calling out from behind them telling him to stop, but he kept on running.

They reached the back door pushing it open and still ignoring Bill’s hollering as they rushed over to Beatrice and immediately drove off.

They had six minutes to get back to the diner.

Stanley was panicking and they still had so much to go.

Ben was trying his hardest to relax his friend, though he himself was still in complete disbelief about Bev and kissing her. 

Carding a hand through his hair and trying to calm himself down, Stanley rested one hand on his knee while his other fished in his pocket for his sunglasses.

But his stress became magnified ten-fold.

His sunglasses were fucking gone.

After a smooth and thankfully short trip which didn’t do much for Stan and his worrying, they arrived at the diner with a little under two minutes to spare.

Ben parked Beatrice just outside the back door of “Kosher Like Me” as Stanley slipped in, hoping Butch hadn’t arrived yet.

Unfortunately, much to Stan’s chagrin, he was not as lucky and was instantly met with the sound of Butch’s voice who was cursing and full on raging.

He was shouting so much that the veins in his neck had started to strain, while Henry and Patrick were seemingly frozen behind him, silently observing their father.

“WHERE IS THAT BASTARD? I KNEW THAT DIPSHIT WOULD LEAVE AND DISOBEY MY ORDERS, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT SON OF A BITCH, I WILL FUCKING KILL HIM”

Luckily, there were no customers in the diner as Marcia tried to speak up against him.

“Its okay Butch, he’s just…”

“Out the back” piped up Sally “he was just helping Victor”

It was like a perfectly timed moment from a movie, when Stanley popped out from behind the counter, right next to Victor. He had hurriedly undone the top of his costume and tied on an apron over the t-shirt underneath it from before.

“Stanley what are you doing back there?” Butch’s voice had dangerously lowered, and he was no longer yelling, instead squinting at Stan, his eyes gleaming.

“I was just helping Vic with some omelettes” Stanley announced as Victor nodded in agreement.

“See Butch buddy, there’s nothing to worry about, the boy’s been with us all night” Belch said comfortingly, patting Butch on the shoulder and that seemed to be enough for Butch when without saying anything else he spun on his heel and exited the diner, his sons behind him.

But before Stanley could celebrate outsmarting Butch, both Henry and Patrick exchanged glances before turning to him and shooting him the dirtiest look he had ever seen.

It was like they knew where he had been and were out to get him.

And at that thought, Stanley was terrified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to finally post this chapter! 
> 
> I hope that this was okay, it is definitely a very eventful chapter that's for sure.
> 
> Also, here is the inspiration for each couple's costume :)
> 
> Stenbrough: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/db/b6/b9/dbb6b93a28a89cfbd5f0626ecfb0644d--hot-halloween-costumes-costumes-for-men.jpg
> 
> Reddie: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/8c/a4/618ca4b80e92cf750105b615634b96ee.jpg and https://i.pinimg.com/originals/75/02/66/7502665672366eec3b43e7f36e262562.jpg
> 
> Benverly: https://pm1.narvii.com/7113/1e490a2d35a4868724035a6b0a13e866d558ef06r1-443-332v2_uhq.jpg
> 
> Mike and Sam: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/71/86/20/7186202d81c10e2ec18f954c19bf411d.jpg


	6. Chapter 5

It had been two days, two agonising days since the night of the dance and Stanley knew he was completely fucked.

He was more than aware that by the time Monday rolled around he would inevitably see Bill for the first time since Friday, whether it was at school or when Stan had his tutoring session with Georgie.

He had spent far too long worrying about finally coming face to face with Bill and freezing or worse blurting out the reality that had been weighing on him since he left The Falcon Friday evening.

_Its me Bill. I was the person you danced with and nearly kissed at the Halloween Dance and I’m also in love with you and have been for years._

He could see it now, Stanley confessing his feelings to the other teen while Bill’s eyes turned to slits, as he cruelly spat out his rejection.

_Did you really think I could have feelings for someone like you Stan?_

The possibilities had been restlessly whirring inside Stanley’s mind and he was worn out both emotionally and physically. 

Henry and Patrick had spent the weekend determined to make his life a living hell (after suspecting that he was at the dance) and since Butch hated him all the same, they doubled his usual number of chores making Stan ache all over.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

For the past two nights Stan had also been having trouble sleeping.

He’d started to have dreams, extremely vivid dreams that were filled with Bill doing decidedly naughty things to him, which he secretly knew were an extension of what he _wished_ had happened after they danced together and almost kissed.

Instead of sleeping, Stanley found his mind endlessly wander into the depths of could be’s and what it would have felt like if Bill’s lips _had_ met his own.

He hoped that by Monday, Bill would have already forgotten the events which had ensued at the dance, it would definitely subside a lot of the guilt that was building up for Stan.

Besides, Bill was never someone to just settle down so it seemed highly unlikely that he would even give the dance and their almost kiss a second thought. He was probably already thinking about choosing his latest conquest of the week.

That thought reassured Stanley as he dressed for school, bright and early on the Monday morning hoping to avoid Bill for as much of the day as possible.

He had come up with a flimsy excuse for Butch, telling him he had a meeting with his teacher before class which he could not reschedule.

While at first sceptical, Butch had believed him knowing how committed Stanley was to his grades, though that still didn’t stop him from his usual insults “we all know the real reason you wanted to see Mr Dalton Stanley, you wanted to suck his dick like the pansy you are”.

Henry and Patrick had cackled behind him as Stanley felt heat creep up his neck, beyond humiliated and furious.

Stan had already arranged with Ben for an earlier pick up time, which he spent venting about Butch and how horrible he was.

But what he hadn’t anticipated was a bright eyed and eager Bill Denbrough greeting them first thing as they drove into the Derry High School carpark.

Stanley internally cursed at his bad luck while the russet teen waved at them and watched as they parked Beatrice before striding over to them, his eyes big and beautiful.

“S-Stan I n-n-need to t-talk t-t-to you”

Stanley instantly paled, Bill already knew it was him? How?

To be fair, Stan’s costume hadn’t done a great job of concealing his true identity, but everyone seemed to be fooled at the dance, even at the time Bill.

Stan started to brace himself for the complete worst before viewing Bill and noting how none of his actions indicated that he was mad or disappointed in the slightest.

He was vibrant and bubbly, maybe even _lovestruck_ and Stanley’s heart constricted painfully at the thought.

Of course Bill had found someone else, the guy was charming and good looking and anyone would be lucky to have him.

But instead of Bill confessing his new love for someone else, Stan observed as he reached into his pant pocket, taking out a pair of sunglasses in his large palm.

“O-On Friday n-n-night at t-the Halloween b-b-bash I d-d-danced with s-someone who d-dropped their s-s-sunglasses, do y-you k-know who’s t-t-these could b-be?”

Ben who was standing next to Stanley, looked over at him, recognition glistening in his eyes.

Fucking dandy.

They were Stan’s sunglasses.

Bill had picked up the sunglasses he must have dropped when leaving The Falcon.

This was all beginning to sound like a goddamn soap opera.

Stanley took the sunglasses from Bill and examined them, yes they were definitely his and he was so incredibly screwed.

Bill continued talking as Stan kept his eyes firmly glued on the familiar pair of sunglasses in his hands.

“I r-really don’t k-k-know who t-these b-b-belong t-to, and I-I’m a-a-aware that y-you d-didn’t even g-g-go to the d-dance, but d-d-do you h-have _any_ i-ideas?”

This was starting to get out of hand, it really was.

“No I don’t Bill” his eyes were still focused on the sunglasses, determined to not give away _anything_ which could suggest otherwise.

“W-well in t-t-that case, I w-was w-w-wondering if y-you wanted t-t-to help m-me find t-t-the person w-who owns t-t-these b-because I really w-w-want to t-thank them. It w-w-was truly one o-of t-t-the best n-nights in m-my life.”

Stanley was seconds away from passing out, this was all too much and when he did not respond, Bill turned to him his cobalt orbs concernedly scanning over Stan’s face.

Stan knew if he didn’t agree to help Bill he would seem like a shitty friend and that it would make it easier for Bill to figure out that it was him at the dance. But what Stanley found himself fearing the most was the possibility of Bill hating him.

Bill hating Stanley was something that he knew he couldn’t go through again, it had hurt too much and he was willing to do whatever it took to not deal with it a second time.

So he knew that he was going to have to agree to the eldest Denbrough’s proposition despite how guilty he felt.

“Sure Bill, when do we start?” he weakly replied, trying to overlook how Bill’s face had completely lit up like a Christmas tree. As Bill started to keenly chatter with Ben, Stanley wrapped his arms around himself, trying to convince himself that it was all right.

That everything was going to be fine.

 _Yeah fine_ , he stifled a snort, _fine his ass._

* * *

The rest of the morning it was like Bill was on an all time high.

He had a bounce in his step and was a lot more social than usual which Stanley had closely observed among other things.

His hopes that Bill had forgotten about Friday flew out the window while Bill animatedly conversed about it with the rest of the losers and his plans including how he had even began compiling together a list of all the people who were at the dance.

Stan knew it was wrong, dragging his friend along on this wild goose chase but he couldn’t help but be slightly pleased, Bill was going through all this just to see him (or his mystery person who _was_ Stan) again. Their night together clearly meant something to him too and Stanley felt his heart soar in his chest at that thought.

He snuck a glance over at the object of his affections before he shifted his view to the rest of the losers as they sat together at their usual table in the cafeteria during lunch.

Sam and Mike were involved in their own conversation and were now holding hands, openly enamoured with one another.

The announcement of their relationship had not come as a surprise to any of the losers.

According to Bev, the two had danced together at the Halloween Bash and afterwards Sam had asked him out there and then, Mike was of course overjoyed and the two went out on their first date on the weekend, hence officially confirming their relationship.

Stan was happy for them he really was, though he wished he could one day have that with Bill, without having to hide who he was in total fear of ruining possibly _the best thing_ to have happened to him so far in his young life.

Eyeing the other losers, Stanley spied Richie while he was loudly arguing with Bev about Romeo and Juliet.

Seated on the other side of Bev was a silent Eddie who was vehemently texting on his phone and every so often frowned looking up at Bev and Richie, before returning his attention back to the device in his hands.

In amidst disagreeing with Bev, Stan noticed how Richie was unusually flushed and kept bringing his attention back to a glowering Eddie.

Bev had also warned Stan of Eddie and Richie’s most recent argument on their walk to English that morning.

They had apparently hooked up at the dance and despite clearly pining for each other had yet another argument, thus explaining why they were now avoiding one another.

Their latest argument was pretty bad from what Stanley could tell and he really hoped they could figure their shit out, they were beyond frustrating and he knew the rest of the losers felt the same way.

This prompted Stanley to move onto the last couple which was Bev and Ben.

Bev definitely had no idea that Ben was the person she had kissed at the dance and was oblivious to the heart eyes Ben had been shooting at her (that were now ten-fold since the dance).

Though despite this, Stan was starting to become aware of the way she would shyly steal a glance over at Ben when in a conversation or even while walking to class. She also tried to include him in the group setting often asking him for his opinion or being extra sweet to him, which Stanley suspected meant she was rather interested in him as well.

Those two were going to need a miracle and Stan hoped for their sake it would come sooner rather than later.

He thought this as he quickly peeked back over at Bill again who was now staring at him with a boyish grin illuminating his attractive features.

Stanley felt his heart pound in his chest and he sighed dejectedly to himself.

Maybe Ben and Bev weren’t the only one’s who were going to need a miracle after all.

* * *

It had been a week.

A total of seven days and instead of Bill slowing his search efforts the auburn teen had just increased them even further.

By now Stan was convinced that he already knew it was him at the dance and wondered if Bill was now deliberately messing with him.

Bill had been questioning everyone who was supposedly at the dance and each rejection made him persevere with his quest even more.

It had taken Stanley a lot of willpower over the week to not blurt out his secret which now felt wrong and dirty.

But he worried, that when Bill would eventually figure out it was him, he would freak and not just hate Stanley but _despise him._

Stan was also afraid that Bill would discover his identity and not find the chase worthwhile which would make him in turn disappointed by the outcome. It was something that Stan knew would hurt him much more than he ever cared to admit.

Over the past week, they had gotten into a routine of sorts with Bill greeting both Ben and Stan each morning before their English class with a new update on his search for his mystery person.

Ben had started nagging Stan, telling him to just tell Bill the truth, but Stanley found it entirely ironic considering how Ben had not said a word to Bev despite being in the exact same predicament as him.

Stanley mulled over these thoughts which had now been churning around in his head for the past week as Ben drove Beatrice into the school carpark the following Monday morning.

Fully expecting an enthusiastic and starry eyed Bill Denbrough, Stan was slightly disheartened when they pulled into the school carpark devoid of their usual greeting.

He hoped that this would not be the pace for the rest of the day, but it ended up being exactly that. It was like a disruption of the pattern which Bill had started to create and was as if Bill had had a total change in perspective or interest in his pursuit.

He also did not speak at all to Stanley during the day which suggested that he was ignoring him and that he had completely given up on his search for whoever he was with at the dance. Part of Stanley was relieved by this news because it meant that he wasn’t going to have to continue hiding this secret anymore because it clearly didn’t matter to Bill as much as he had originally thought.

But Stan also felt hurt, it was like Bill had just given up on the chase because it was too hard and for that he resented Bill and how he had just disposed of Stanley when he got bored of him like a plaything.

Things had been going so well for them and now everything had changed just because of his inability to commit.

Sitting in his last period Physics class, Stanley contemplated confronting Bill about his change in behaviour before his tutoring session with Georgie that afternoon.

He knew he was going to have to face him or else he would keep these feelings bottled up, an unhealthy coping mechanism he had grown adjusted to, which would later lead to him exploding like a volcano at the most inconvenient of times.

Pushing through the rest of his lesson, Stanley was relieved for his school day to be over. He said his goodbyes with Ben and the rest of the losers (minus an absent Bill of course) before making the familiar trek to the Denbrough’s mansion. On his short walk, he came up with a mental script of what to say to Bill and the points that he needed to emphasise in his interrogation.

Once he arrived, he was disappointed to not see the russet teen and was instead only met with his younger brother. But Stanley then remembered that Bill had baseball training after school and how infrequently he would be around for Georgie’s Monday tutoring sessions.

Passively listening to Georgie’s excited babbling about his newest puffle who he had named Pennywise for unknown reasons (“Stanley it sounds cool, like he has lots of money”), they headed upstairs and into the dining room. They settled down, pulling out their supplies and whatnot before Georgie cracked open his textbook which soon became the sole focus of their session.

An hour passed and their tutorial came to an end.

Georgie quickly bid ways with Stan, determined to return to his bedroom and his igloo so he could introduce Pennywise to his other puffles or whatever that meant, Stan was still a bit unsure about this whole puffle thing.

Heading down the stairs, Stan distracted himself by grabbing his phone from his pant pocket, expecting a slew of messages from Butch informing him of the many duties he would have that evening for his shift at the diner.

Stanley tried to control his annoyance as he scrolled through them, itching to confront Bill on his sudden change of behaviour but not yet being able to.

Though luckily for him, he crashed into Bill at the bottom of the staircase, having not paid attention to the intruder who was silently standing there and texting on his damn phone.

Trying to compose himself and still tightly gripping his phone in his hand, Stanley decided to just bite the fucking bullet.

“What the fuck has been going on with you Bill? One minute you’re avidly searching for this mystery person and then the next you have totally given up on them. I thought you were madly in love with them or some shit?”

“I-I am S-S-Stan” his eyes bore into Stanley’s and were holding an emotion which Stanley could not decipher for the life of him. Were they fond? Wistful? He couldn’t tell.

“You know what Bill, I thought you’d changed I really did but you give up, that’s all you fucking do and the moment times get hard you just give up like always, that hasn’t changed one bit” Stanley was fired up as he spat out these words at Bill, his face red and heart throbbing loudly in his chest.

“And what about the fact that you have been ignoring me all day, when I have done nothing to deserve this at all”

Bill opened his mouth, about to speak before Stan held up his hand effectively silencing him before he even got the chance to explain himself.

“Actually, I don’t want to hear the answer after all because nothing will change the truth, which is that you are cruel and selfish and afraid of committing to something which isn’t you”. Stanley was seconds away from a meltdown and turned on his heel, exiting out the front door hurriedly.

Once out the door, he dialled Ben’s phone number before moving the device up to his ear, ready to rant as he made the hike back to “Kosher like me” for his shift.

* * *

Stanley flopped onto his old lumpy bed in the attic, beyond exhausted.

It was 1am and he had just arrived back at Butch’s house after a prolonged and slow night shift.

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, willing his head to cease its non-stop buzzing.

Since leaving the Denbrough’s, Stan had been in a foul mood which Sally, Marcia and unfortunately even Butch had noticed.

Ever the masochist, his darling stepfather had decided to put Stanley on closing duty and had given him a greater than usual list of useless and mundane tasks to complete.

This whole drama with Bill was really getting to Stan and he felt his jaw stubbornly work at the mere thought of their argument.

_Stupid Bill. Why did I have to go and fall for that dumbass? All he cares about is himself._

The rest of the house was silent, and Stan sat motionless on his bed, cherishing the rareness of the quiet that had come about.

After a moment, he instinctively felt himself reach under his bed, bringing out a worn and tattered cardboard box containing mementos and other things that had belonged to his parents.

This was his only way of keeping them and their spirit alive most days, so it seemed.

He sifted through the objects hunting for a specific book his mother had gifted him for his birthday just before her death.

It was an encyclopaedia written on all the birds in the Derry region and was dedicated to Stanley on the inside cover in fancy gold lettering _“To my darling son Stanley, will you always make me proud each and every day. Lots of Love Mom”_

Despite having received this book years ago, Stan usually only managed to get through half of it, too distraught or saddened by the memory of his mother to read the entire thing.

When he finally located it, he turned to the first page which was dedicated to ‘Avocets’ and he was instantly struck with the memory of when he was gifted it years ago.

**FLASHBACK** :

“I have one more surprise for you honey” Stanley’s mother had said, her voice musical and her dress flowy as she fluttered over to him holding his last gift.

Stan grinned, nervous and excited as he grasped the present in his hands trying to guess what it could be.

His mother had insisted that the two of them have their own private celebration for his twelfth birthday and she had surprised him with a kosher vanilla cake (his favourite) and even a few gifts from Marcia, Sally and the rest of the staff at “Kosher like me”.

But he had yet to receive one from her, which he had been secretly anticipating the most.

He anxiously began to unwrap the gift, admiring her wrapping skills and how large it was in his hands.

He eventually handed the last of the wrapping paper over to his mother and his breath hitched in complete awe at the gift in his very hands.

There it was in all its glory, _The New Encyclopaedia of Birds in Derry_ and he marvelled at its beauty, completely and utterly dumbstruck.

He had been avidly discussing it with his mother and how badly he wanted the newest edition of this encyclopaedia, though he didn’t actually think she had been listening to him.

He clutched the book protectively in his arms before striding up to his mother and encasing her in a warm and very appreciative hug.

He was engulfed by her floral perfume and he knew he could stay like this forever. This truly felt like home, all they needed was his father and Stanley could die happy.

He beamed, looking up into her sparkling brown eyes, pure adoration and appreciation evident in his shining smile “thank you so much mom, I can’t believe you remembered!”

“Of course I did, anything for my only son” she laughed melodically before she leant down, her voice slightly lowering as she moved to whisper into his ear “Stan honey, I know that you won’t understand it now, but this book contains very important information for when you are older, it will change the course of your life forever. Promise me you will keep this away from Butch, I don’t want him seeing this, not at least until you are eighteen, okay?”

Confused but compliant, Stanley nodded his head, wanting to do whatever he could to make his mother happy as he continued to cherish her warm embrace.

**END FLASHBACK**

That memory often came back to Stan and he was often always reminded of how incredible his mother had been when she was around. He was now on the page titled ‘The Band-Tailed Pigeon’ and felt his grasp on the binding of the book tighten.

Why did his mother have to leave him? Couldn’t she see how miserable he was when she left him with his sadistic step-father and equally as cruel step-brothers?

He was now furious at the unfairness of his current situation. 

He was stuck here having to deal with absolute hell and that wasn’t even regarding the whole Bill situation.

Bill was pathetic and only thought about himself which made Stan’s feelings for him a whole lot more complicated. He _should_ hate him and every fibre of his being for being the epitome of a fuckboy, but the guy was charismatic and kept drawing Stanley in.

Instead of being angry like initially, all Stan now felt was exhausted as he carelessly threw the encyclopaedia he was currently holding somewhere into the far corner of the room, now forgotten.

By the time the book had landed on a random spot on the floor, Stanley was already fast asleep, his snores illuminating his surroundings as he fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!  
> Chapter 5 of this story, which I promise I haven't forgotten about though it probably seems like I have.  
> Only one more chapter and the epilogue to go, how exciting :)  
> Thank you for reading and for not giving up on this story, it truly means so much.  
> I'll see you next update.


	7. Chapter 6

The next few weeks flew by for Stanley.

In amongst his hectic finals and the multitude of assignments that he had been forced to complete, Stan had also taken to ignoring Bill.

He knew that in the long run this was not a great coping strategy, purposefully disregarding the auburn teen, but to his credit it wasn’t exactly like Bill had been trying hard at all to capture his attention or to even have a simple conversation with him.

It was truly as if Bill had just moved on and that thought infuriated Stanley.

Stan still kept close tabs on Bill’s latest hookups who were still ever changing with each passing week.

He had observed Bill’s current one at the moment who was a junior named Peter Gordon. Peter was known for always donning a pair of dungarees and for frequently starring in Derry High’s theatrical productions.

The two were an peculiar combination, but that concept wasn’t ever enough to tame the bubbling envy inside Stan’s chest whenever he saw them together.

It always ate on Stan’s nerves, especially when they would make out right beside his locker or when Bill would whisper sweet nothings into Peter’s ear with his arm slung over his narrow shoulder.

Their interactions just further highlighted the painful truth which Stanley had dreaded coming to terms with.

Bill was a fuckboy and was always going to be one. Nothing was ever going to change that fact period.

He wished things could be different, but with finals coming to an end and his college applications due in a few weeks, Stan was glad that they could serve as a distraction for him. Sure, they were only temporary diversions, but they would stay useful until he figured out how to best deal with Bill and his complicated feelings for him.

Speaking of Bill, ever since the russet teen had started to ‘date’ Peter, he had rarely spent any time with the Losers, often choosing to ditch them so they could make out or whatever else.

Though Eddie had reminded Stanley about that upcoming Friday which was the annual Derry High vs Bangor High Baseball Match which was a huge deal for Bill and his baseball team.

This match was each year held after school on the last day of finals for seniors and served as a celebration and time for some much-needed competition after such a stressful exam period. It encouraged all students from grades 9-12 to come along and support the Derry team.

Derry High had always maintained a rivalry with Bangor High which were from the neighbouring town Bangor that was located about an hour outside of Derry. This match was always very hyped up and even talent scouts were known to come and scout ‘potential stars’ from both teams.

Each year the matches alternated with which school would host the game. This year Derry High were responsible for holding it which had put a lot of extra pressure onto the baseball team to do particularly well as the home team.

Stan had forgotten about this game entirely, though it did explain why Bill had been both absent and also quieter than usual (aside from his make out sessions with Peter). Stanley also suspected that Bill’s dad was probably going to be attending as well which he knew would be an added stress for Bill, the poor guy he actually almost felt sorry for him.

He thought back to the dance and their conversation “I-I hate b-b-baseball” Bill had told him as he explained how his parents wanted him to do baseball, not because he actually enjoyed it but because it was a part of their grand master plan to control his every move.

Stan was glad that he never had to deal with anything like that, but he had his own individual struggles especially back at the home front.

He had been stretched to the bone both physically and emotionally at the Bower’s household and was in a constant state of exhaustion.

Stanley always knew that Butch hated him, but his actions over the past few weeks had gone far beyond hatred. It was as if Butch downright _loathed_ him and relished watching him suffer.

Butch’s beatings had become a lot worst with harsh slaps to the face and brutal fucking hits, punches, scratches (the list went on) to different parts of Stan’s body, littering his pale features with bruise after bruise.

Henry and Patrick also joined in the fray and Stanley was genuinely not sure if he could survive until his 18th birthday which was still _months_ away.

The staff at the diner knew of how violent Butch and his sons could be; they weren’t blind and had always been protective of Stan especially Sally and Marcia.

But Stanley always insisted that it was fine, even though he knew it was far from.

He reflected on these thoughts one Monday night after he had returned home from another closing shift at the diner. He tiptoed through the deadly silent house, afraid to wake up Butch or his spawn as he gently closed the attic door behind him as quietly as possible.

Stanley still prayed in moments like these when he was alone and in particularly trying times. He found himself needing guidance and support from up above as he knelt at the foot of his bed, clasping his hands together.

He said a quick prayer up to his parents and God, requiring some extra encouragement especially when dealing with Butch.

After a couple of seconds had passed, Stan moved to tuck himself into his bed, feeling more clarity about his current situation. He was ready to take on the upcoming week and whatever new challenges would be coming his way, all with the guidance of up above.

* * *

The following day was Tuesday and Stanley was stressed.

Overwhelmed to say the least as Ben dropped him back at “Kosher like me” following the end of their school day.

Stan had dual exams in the next two days and was beginning to panic, had he done enough study? Or was he going to have to pull another all nighter? His recent sleep deprivation had been taking a major toll on him and his current work ethic.

Stanley headed into the diner and greeted Marcia while he started to tie his apron around his slim torso. He then went to pick up a notepad and pen as Butch strode out of the back with Henry and Patrick in tow behind him.

Butch was holding a sponge and bucket and stopped in front of Stan, instantly narrowing his eyes at Stanley.

“What you do think you’re doing Stanley?” he spat out his name like it was poisonous as Stan gestured to a table with new customers who had just arrived “I was just going to serve th-”

“That won’t be necessary” Butch interrupted him “as you might be aware, we have the health inspector coming over in a few hours and I noticed that there was some mould growing over there” he pointed over to the main feature wall which was painted all black.

Feeling indignation rise in his chest, Stanley was going to complain to his stupid stepfather, about how you couldn’t even see any mould because the wall was fucking _black_ but at the last minute, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Besides, since praying the previous night he had vowed to himself to be more forgiving of Butch and to not let his arrogant and ignorant behaviour get on his nerves as much as usual.

Butch handed him the bucket with soapy water splashing inside it and the sponge “you have fifteen minutes and we’ll be back, if it isn’t up to my standards you know what’s going to happen don’t you you filthy fairy?” he smirked, his eyes sinister and cruel as he glared at Stan who nodded, gulping before going over to the wall.

Butch and his sons loudly chortled at his reaction before exiting out the front door, probably planning to guzzle down a beer or two out the back in the meantime.

Stan felt tears begin to well up in his eyes once they left as he started to scrub at the fucking wall. They were vicious scrubs and he didn’t fucking care anymore, the tears felt hot and heavy as they started to pour down his cheeks, but he was so damn angry at Butch and his merciless words.

He continued to rub at this wall, clouded by fury when he felt someone come up behind him, he could sense that it was Marcia and he kept doing the motion over and over again as she started to soothe him and his bitterness towards his stepfather.

He kept cleaning the fucking wall, until he started to notice the slightest hint of fancy font underneath the black paint.

This gaged his curiosity and he did not halt with his efforts, he only furthered them, determined to figure out what was written through the paint.

He did not stop until he could read the entire message and his breath hitched at what was written across the feature wall when he finally finished:

“Don’t ever be scared to ask for help, it doesn’t mean you are weak, it only means you are wise” and he felt his jaw drop.

Of course, it was his father’s quote which he himself had painted on the wall. This was a sign from God and Stanley was not willing to let this opportunity pass especially considering his plea for help from the previous evening.

Trying to calm his thumping heartbeat and newfound sense of bravery from rediscovering the quote, he waited until Butch returned.

Belch, Sally and Victor had even appeared from out the back to see what the commotion was about and were astonished at the message which they had also forgotten about until now.

The second Butch staggered in through the front door, the cocky expression plastered across his features dropped the second he saw the phrase on the wall.

He marched over to Stan, his eyes murderous and teeth gritted “what the fuck have you done here Stanley?”

Stan just stared at him and his sons behind him, this was _their_ fault, yet they were still blaming _him._

“Stanley, go into the back right fucking now and get a tin of black paint so you can cover up this stupid quote, I demand you go right fucking now!!”

But this time instead of agreeing, Stanley stood his ground “no” he let out while still staring at Butch, Stan’s features emotionless.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me Butch, I said no and you know what I fucking quit. I fucking quit this job and I fucking quit being apart of your pathetic excuse of a family when you never even gave a goddamn shit about me once”

Butch was completely taken aback at his outburst “oh and who are you going to live with then you ungrateful son of a bitch?”

A moment of silence passed and Stanley prepared himself for the worst, having to live alone and on the streets, but at least he would then be away from Butch.

“Me” Marcia’s voice was soft but stern as she eventually stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Stan “he’s going to live with me”.

Stanley grinned triumphantly before he started to walk towards the back of the diner.

“Wait a second darling” Marcia called to him stopping in his tracks “I’m going to do something I should have a long long time ago” she turned to Butch before continuing “look Butch, I quit as well and the only freaking reason I ever stuck around here was for the sake of that boy over there” she smiled fondly at Stanley “and now that he has finally stood up for himself I refuse to stay here any longer”

Butch was shocked while he moved to speak with the other employees “come on guys” he was begging them at this stage as he watched them one by one announce that they also quit.

Hugging Marcia appreciatively, Stanley departed “Kosher like me” with a smile on his face for the first time in years as she directed him towards her car, so thankful for the start of a new phase in his life.

* * *

“-And this is your bedroom here on the right” Marcia moved aside, allowing Stan to take a peek inside his new bedroom complete with an ensuite.

His eyes lit up at his new form of freedom and he suddenly felt like crying, she had done so much for him and he was forever grateful.

Right after leaving the diner, Stanley had gone with Marcia back to Butch’s place, ready to collect all of his belongings so they could bring them to her house.

It had been awkward, as they tried to ignore Butch, Henry and Patrick who were hovering over them infuriated with this latest arrangement.

Stanley had hastily stuffed his belongings into cardboard boxes for easy transportation. He also located his box of mementos from his parents which included his encyclopedia, making sure to hide them from Butch as he took them down to Marcia’s car.

Once they had completely cleared the attic of Stan’s existence, they silently returned to the car for the last time and drove off to Marcia’s home.

She had been showing Stanley around when he felt his phone vibrate in his pant pocket.

He shot Marcia an apologetic smile before bringing it out and answering the phone call. He watched her retreat into the kitchen, giving him some privacy which he never used to get with Butch.

It was Ben and he sounded completely frantic.

“Stan I’ve done something horrible”.

Stanley took in a deep and calculated breath as his best friend started to ramble about his terrible mistake.

* * *

It had been fucking ages since the night of the Halloween dance when Ben Hanscom was finally able to kiss the sole object of his affections Beverly Marsh.

Despite whatever Stan would say, Ben was not obsessed, he was just a guy with feelings often too intense to contain.

He had been plotting his identity reveal to Bev for weeks now, trying to concoct the perfect way to confess to her both his feelings and his identity as Romeo Montague.

The idea came to him in the middle of a Biology class when he least expected it.

_Why don’t you give her an anonymous letter and propose to meet her somewhere secluded where you can confess your undying love to her._

It sounded easy enough, but what he was starting to learn was that nothing in regards to Beverly Marsh was ever easy.

She was always busy, or it just wasn’t ever the right occasion to sneak her the note which he had drafted for so long at this point.

But the perfect moment came to him the next day which was a Tuesday after school was officially out.

It was currently 4pm and he had returned to the school to both pick up a forgotten textbook he had left behind and to also drop off his note.

The hallways were empty as he purposefully searched for a certain locker, 301 to be precise and he knew had to be swift.

297, 298, 299, 300, 301

Here he was.

Standing in front of Bev’s locker ready to do something either incredibly stupid or incredibly romantic.

Taking in a deep shaky breath, he slotted his note in through a little opening on her locker and only released it once it had fallen out of his grasp and officially landed somewhere in her locker.

Overcome with mixed emotions, he clutched his Geography textbook to his chest as he sped walked down the hallway and into the school carpark as fast as possible.

Getting into Beatrice, he drove home with adrenaline flowing through his veins.

For the first little while it was fine, but after some time he began to totally freak out. What the fuck had he done? Sending an anonymous letter to the woman he loved, sure that would go down just fucking great, he sarcastically told himself.

Worriedly he reached for his phone and called Stan, needing to let off some steam and to get a second opinion on the matter.

“You did a good thing” Stanley assured him, “at least this way you can be open with her about how you feel and move on if she doesn’t feel the same way”.

That helped, but it still wasn’t enough.

“Why don’t you just wait until Thursday afternoon and see what happens” Stan sounded fed up and Ben felt bad about dumping this all onto him.

He guessed he could just wait and see what happened, though his anxiety was still ever present over the subsequent two school days.

Ben had already finished his exams earlier in the week, which meant he could focus on this Beverly issue full on which to be honest made the days go by for him even slower.

He was prepared for the absolute worst as he uneasily shifted from where he was underneath the bleachers.

In his note he had requested that she meet him (being unnamed) underneath the bleachers at 3:30 on Thursday after school because he had something very important to tell her.

He restlessly continued to check his phone for the time with each passing second.

3:29

3:30

3:31

3:32

3:33

The more time that went by, the more disheartened he became.

By the time 3:40 came and went he was about to give up and never show his face at the school again when he glanced up ahead, squinting into the sunlight as he noticed the familiar fiery curls of Bev approaching him.

Coming towards him she looked taken aback when she finally recognised him.

“Ben?”

“Hi Bev” he smiled shakily at her “look, I really need to tell you a few things, so please don’t get mad about them okay?”

She nodded and he started to talk, letting it all out at once.

“I was Romeo, at the Halloween dance” he began, staring at his shoes, he didn’t want to see her reaction which he knew would be one of pity.

“and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, but it was really hard to even say this to you now. And I guess I should also tell you that I’m in love with you and I have been for the longest fucking time and I never told you because I didn’t even think you knew I existed or would want to be with me”

He felt pathetic, waiting for her reply, his secrets bare and laying out in the open.

Her voice was warm and kind when she finally spoke “why would you ever think I never knew you existed or wouldn’t want to be with you Ben? You’ve always been you and you’re so damn sweet, how the fuck could I not be crazy about?”

He gaped at her, his jaw slacked at her confession and eyes wide as she kept speaking, this surely had to be a dream or a cruel cruel nightmare.

“And don’t worry, I always knew it was you at the dance Ben, or else I would have never kissed you if it wasn’t”.

“You’re kidding right?” he was astounded at what she had just revealed and still in total disbelief about the whole thing.

She simply answered his question by yanking him towards her, enabling their lips to meet once again. He groaned at the feel of his lips on hers as he pulled her even closer, mind blown that this was somehow his reality.

* * *

“Come on guys, this isn’t funny” Eddie dejectedly sighed, pounding his fists against the locked door and praying from an escape from his current situation.

“Not until the two of you finally figure your shit out” Beverly smirked (he could practically hear her smirking all the way through the other side of the damn door)

“Fucking Molly Ringwald” Richie cursed, readjusting his glasses and Eddie suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Their supposed best friends had decided to lock the two of them together into the janitor’s closet having had enough of their ‘fuckery’ as Bev put it. They had also been informed that they would be only let out if they both confessed their undying love to one another or some shit.

Yeah sure, maybe that would work if they were both madly in love, but unfortunately for Eddie, Richie was as uninterested as it got.

The guy fucking flirted with anyone with a pulse and Eddie hated how jealous he got from watching him seem to woo everyone he came in contact with.

Cue to the dance, when Eddie finally got to feel Richie’s lips against his in a frenzied exchange of kisses and much much more.

It had been like a dream and he’d been so happy with pretending that his feelings for his best friend were requited even just temporarily. Richie’s large hands were calloused and ran all over Eddie’s small body, passionately grasping his ass and even wandering under the smooth expanse of skin beneath his costume.

Electricity had coursed through Eddie’s veins while they roughly made out against a dimly lit wall in the Falcon.

Their lips had been swollen and their cheeks unbelievably flushed when they finally parted.

But then came the slap to Eddie’s face as the bleak reality viciously crashed onto him. He instantly felt nauseous and reached into his pant pocket, craving reassurance from his puffer which he still carried with him, even though he didn’t need it anymore, he never even fucking needed it to begin with.

The presence of his puffer did nothing for Eddie and instead he shoved at Richie “I cannot just be another one of your conquests” Eddie had pled with the raven teen as Richie gawked at him, his coke bottle framed eyes alert and face still scarlet from their previous actions.

But the seconds passed, and Richie did not speak and that was enough for Eddie to tug down his rumpled shirt and to run out onto the dance floor, pushing through the crowd and desperately wanting to go home but needing to find Bev who he had carpooled with.

Now here they were, the two of them stuck inside the janitors closet and cringing at the unbearable silence which had come about.

“Look Eds …” Richie began apprehensively as he ran a big hand through his messy hair.

Eddie found his eyes instinctively drawn to Richie’s hands, god they were massive, and he had to force down the pang of warmth and arousal in his chest at the sight;

Trying his best to divert his gaze from his best friend’s attractive face and huge hands, Eddie chewed on his bottom lip nervously.

They never did awkward, Eddie and Richie, it just wasn’t ever in their cards. But here they were, and Eddie wanted more than anything to pull Richie towards him and kiss him harder than he ever had in his entire fucking life.

They had been avoiding each other since the dance, after all Eddie had basically in his own way confessed his feelings to Richie.

He suspected that Richie had already figured out how Eddie was hopelessly in love with him and was trying to let him down gently because he didn’t feel the same.

But Eddie was strong and could get over this, fuck Richie he convinced himself, he didn’t need him.

Yeah, sure he didn’t

Liar liar pants on –

He grinded his teeth together, agitated; he’d had more than enough of their current situation.

Eddie knew deep in his heart that he would only confess in a more upfront way if Richie gave him more to work with, anything at this stage which symbolised even the slightest interest in pursuing their relationship a new or different direction.

Maybe Richie had misunderstood what Eddie told him at the dance? Eddie couldn’t be sure and needed more, more of a sign so that he could take the first step and not humiliate himself in the process.

“You know, they’re convinced out there that we’re madly in love or some shit” Richie tried again bringing Eddie out of his reverie, as he gestured to the door where the other losers were still hanging around. Richie sounded exhausted and Eddie wasn’t sure what to think of it.

Unsure about how to react, Eddie just shrugged his shoulders.

_Of course, their friends thought they were head over heels with one another, that was exactly what Eddie fucking was to his utmost dismay._

Carefully watching Eddie, Richie kept speaking “yeah, Bev seems to think that our feelings for one another go deeper than just friendship or whatever” he attempted to joke but it just sounded off.

“And that got me thinking, is there any way in this fucking world that they could be? That she hasn’t completely lost her marbles?”

This was it, a sign from the heavens and Eddie’s chance to either fuck up their relationship for good or change its course forever.

“I don’t think she’s crazy at all” Eddie spoke up softly, his eyes focused on his hands which he was ringing together, a nervous habit rather than meeting Richie’s mesmerising brown eyes.

Hyperaware of Richie’s weighted gaze, Eddie felt obliged to continue “in fact, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I have ever looked at the two of us as _just_ friends”.

Richie stayed silent, his eyes boring down at him and Eddie involuntarily shuddered at the thought of consuming Richie’s attention in its entirety.

“And you know what? I’m sick of hiding how I feel from you. I’m in love with you Richie and I don’t know for how long, but you make me crazy and I can’t imagine a life where you’re not here with me by my side. And I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I needed you to know because it was fucking eating me up on the inside”.

He was still staring at his fingers and only rose his head when he heard Richie start to laugh, it was rough and caused butterflies to explode in Eddie’s stomach.

“Wait, you’re telling me that the Eddie Spaghetti who I have been helplessly in love with for fucking years actually feels the same way about me??”

“What?” Eddie was shocked as he gazed into Richie’s molten warm brown eyes. He felt the same way this whole goddamn time?

“But what about all of your hookups and Don from the dance?”

“It’s always fucking been you Eds, ever since we were twelve years old. And they never mattered, I only went after them because I never thought in a million years that you would be interested in someone like me”.

Feelings emboldened by Richie’s confession and the fact that he did fucking reciprocate his feelings after years of pining, Eddie did not waste any more time talking.

Richie was now watching him like a hawk as Eddie came up to him, looping his arms around his neck and dragging his mouth towards his own with a sharp intake of breath.

The moment their lips met, it was like a load had been lifted off him and he moaned into Richie’s mouth, taking a glimpse at his dreamy eyes and observing how they had darkened and were greedily staring back at him.

They continued feverishly kissing and exploring each other’s mouths for a few more minutes, completely inside their own bubble and unaware of what was going on outside the door.

“I think they’ve had long enough in there” Sam exclaimed as she fumbled trying to insert the correct key into the keyhole.

She stepped inside the janitors closet and immediately covered her eyes with her hands after noticing them deep in embrace.

“Oh, my eyes!! They’re burning” She wailed.

“Is everything okay Sam?” Mike asked concernedly as he peered his head inside the closet after her before wincing at Eddie and Richie who were both extremely dishevelled and in varying stages of undress.

After composing himself and trying to console his girlfriend, Mike turned back to the other two teens smirking as they hurriedly tried to distance themselves as much as possible “well, it looks like you two have finally made up then”.

“More like made out!? Am I right Homeschool?” Richie lifted his hand, trying to coax a high five out of a disapproving Mike.

“Besides I’m sure Mrs K is fucking furious right now, serves her right though for never meeting any of my needs, she truly is a one track kinda gal” Richie simpered, loving how livid Eddie was getting.

“Beep fucking beep Rich” Eddie scolded him while whacking him on the arm “leave my fucking mother alone asshole”.

Mike and Sam silently watched their interaction unfold and exchanged glances, rolling their eyes.

At least _that_ was never going to fucking change.

* * *

Initially, Stanley hadn’t even wanted to go to the Derry High vs Bangor High Baseball Game, but Ben it turned out was a master of persuasion and due to Bev’s request had been dragged along as well.

So here he was, surrounded by the losers who had all officially coupled off now, leaving Stan and Bill as the last two single ones left.

Bill had reportedly ended things with Peter the day before, sometime before fourth period and was single for the time being, though Stanley could never tell for how long.

The five remaining losers were crammed together on one of the bleachers, ready to support Bill for possibly one of the biggest nights in his entire life.

Eddie and Richie had left at some stage to probably make out.

Ever since the announcement of their relationship they could not fucking keep their hands off one another. They were truly made for one another, a kind of destiny that Stanley often found himself envious of.

Stanley also spied several rows down Mr Denbrough bundled up, impatiently checking his watch waiting for the match to begin, he clearly had a schedule to follow.

He suspected Mr Denbrough was there to put extra pressure on Bill, though it was not because Bill found joy in baseball, but because it gave the Denbrough’s power and leverage, making them often seem from the outside like the perfect family with their shit all together. But Stan knew the truth and how far from reality it really was.

Considering his complicated feelings for Bill, Stanley found it entirely ironic that he was going to cheer on the guy he was both in love with and also furious with at the same goddamn time.

Despite these thoughts whizzing around in his head, he was determined to keep it together, especially in the presence of Bill.

After a couple more minutes, the Derry team finally came running out onto the baseball field, led by a certain gorgeous redhead which caused the crowd (who were mostly Derry High staff and students) to erupt into a round of applause and manic screams.

Soon after, the Bangor team also went out onto the field and all of the players proceeded to take their positions.

Bill glanced up at the bleachers, his icy blue eyes lingering on Stan’s brown ones for a few seconds before he moved to his position as fielder.

The first seven innings glossed over without a hitch, Stanley was on the edge of his seat the entire time and the score was very close with Derry at a score of 20 and Bangor High at one of 14.

Following the end of the 7th inning there was a short intermission when Eddie and Richie decided to return so they could watch the last two innings of the game.

They faced merciless teasing from Bev who snickered at how unruly they looked and the abundance of hickeys across both of their necks.

The 8th inning resumed after the break with Bangor’s team first batting and instantly managing to increase the score to 16 – 20. The second half of the inning saw Derry unfortunately not getting any more home runs and Bangor furthering the score to a tie of 20 – 20.

The last inning began and both teams were working in overdrive, Stan had bitten his nails to the quick in suspense and was becoming increasingly uneasy as he continued to check the scoreboard.

The first half of the inning passed by and the score remained the same, 20 – 20 much to the dismay of Bangor’s team who had just finished batted.

Derry High only needed one point, one home run to win the game and Bill as the Derry team captain was next up to the batting square.

It felt like slow-motion as Bill managed to hit the ball, racing to the first base and Stanley knew could not keep watching.

He couldn’t keep watching this game pretending that everything was okay when the guy he loved was down there pretending that everything was fucking fine and dandy when it wasn’t.

With the next hit, Bill ran to the second base and then the third.

One more base and they would win the game and bring pride and joy to both Derry High and also Bill’s family.

Desperately needing to leave right then, Stanley stood up from his place at the bleachers, muttering apologies and excuses to the rest of the losers as he edged his way to the aisle where Ben was seated.

“What’s wrong? The game’s nearly done; you should stay”

“Ben, I can’t” Stan was on the verge of hyperventilating.

He was too distracted to notice what was occurring down on the baseball field at that exact time as he interacted with Ben.

Bill Denbrough was down on the field at the 3rd base, moments away from winning when he studied the audience, searching for Stanley’s encouraging eyes, but instead all he saw was distress and Stanley moving, wanting to go right there and then.

So, Bill in a matter of seconds decided to run for it, dropping the baseball bat he had been holding as he sprinted off the field.

He felt bad for leaving his team like this, but winning the game didn’t even matter to him, he thinks to himself, it never actually did.

The crowd were completely silent and in total disbelief as their stares followed Bill on his mission as he neared the bottom of the bleachers.

During his mad dash, Bill was intercepted by his father who was shaking his head disapprovingly and frowning.

His father’s teeth were gritted while he jumped into interrogating his eldest son.

“What the hell are you doing Bill? What did we talk about? You’re just going to throw away your dream for some boy?”

Bill just looked up at him, his eyes sad but no longer apologetic.

“N-No d-d-dad, I’m t-throwing away y-y-your’s”.

His father gaped as Bill simply shouldered past him, jogging up the aisle to where Stanley was arguing with Ben.

Only then did Stanley realise what had just happened and the fact that the guy of his dreams had left the fucking game to be with him.

“S-Stan” Bill started, he was out of breath and panting.

“No!!” Stan cut him off, “you cannot just barge up here and pretend that everything is okay when it clearly fucking isn’t at all”.

“I k-k-know, and I-I’m so s-s-sorry t-that I ever m-made you f-f-feel like y-you were n-n-not worthy. I’ve m-made mistakes, s-s-some truly t-t-terrible ones a-and I j-j-just need y-you to k-k-know how I f-feel about y-y-you”.

“How you feel about me?” Stanley was now curious but also still very pissed.

“T-The fact t-t-that I h-have been a-a-absolutely crazy a-about y-you for _years_ a-a-and have b-been t-trying to t-t-tell you f-for s-s-so fucking l-long, but I didn’t k-know if y-y-you liked m-me or w-w-were even into g-guys. So i-in t-the meantime I k-k-kissed anyone I c-could, I g-guess a-a-as a way t-to try g-g-get over y-you or to pretend t-they were y-y-you in s-some twisted f-fucked up w-w-way”

He swallowed before returning with his announcement.

“L-Look, the p-p-point is, I’m r-ridiculously into y-y-you and I r-r-really h-hope you w-w-will give m-me a c-chance to m-make it up t-t-to you b-because you Stan d-d-deserve the f-fucking w-w-world and I am w-willing to f-f-forever give it t-to you and s-so much m-m-more if you w-will let m-me”.

Stan was stunned, in the best way of course at Bill’s confession and the fact that the crowd of about 700 people had just heard his declaration of love probably including a number of his exes.

“You swear that you will make it up to me? Because this whole relationship thing is new for me and I want to make sure that the guy I’m in love with feels the same way”

“I w-w-will do f-fucking anything S-S-Stanley and y-you k-know w-what? I’ve n-n-never s-said this b-b-before but y-yes, I l-love you S-S-Stanley, so d-damn much”.

That was enough for Stan as he inched forward, cupping Bill’s cheek with his hand, before surging forward and hungrily crashing their lips together.

Bill responded just as eagerly, and it was like Stanley had been living his entire live in black and white and was _only now_ seeing colour for the first fucking time. It was electrifying and he could not believe that he had ever gone without Bill’s touch before.

Cherishing Bill’s embrace but also feeling increasingly guilty, Stanley only slightly parted from Bill a few moments later so he could whisper his hidden secret to the other teen,

“Bill, I have to tell you something, I was Maverick at the dance”.

Bill just smiled back at him; his sapphire eyes brighter than Stan had ever seen them before in his entire life.

“S-Stanley I a-already k-k-knew”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah.  
> Okay so I cannot believe that I just finished this chapter already  
> How is there only the epilogue left? Man I have no damn idea.  
> But thank you so much for still reading (if you still are)  
> I'll see you soon with the final part of this story - (very soon indeed ;) )


	8. Epilogue

After that it was like everything fell into place.

The upcoming months leading until graduation were long and busy, reminding Stanley of the world of adulthood that he would eventually get to experience once he turned 18.

It was daunting to say the least, but he was so glad that in the meantime he had the support of Marcia and the other losers, particularly Bill who at times often felt like the only calming force in Stan’s chaotic life.

They found new ways to keep their relationship exciting with stolen kisses in between periods and the promise of a future where they could live together and one where assholes like Henry, Patrick, Butch and Mr Denbrough’s cruelty did not exist.

Because of the very eventful few months Stanley had endured, he did not have much time to unpack from when he moved into Marcia’s house, now _weeks_ later.

Of course he had taken out his necessities, but his mementoes and special items remained forgotten at the bottom of one of the many cardboard boxes that were still scattered around his bedroom.

He had been so occupied with selecting his college for the new year, along with the other losers who were sadly splitting up for higher education all over the country.

Sam and Bev would be in New York, Eddie and Ben in Cambridge, Mike and Richie in California and Bill and Stan going to Princeton in New Jersey.

As a friendship group, the losers knew the long distance would be challenging and Stanley hated that they would not be able to frequently see each other, though he had faith and knew that they _would_ still keep in contact and remain friends regardless, they had to.

The future was terrifying for Stan but the promise of another life with the guy he loved was all that he knew he secretly needed.

The next couple of weeks passed by extremely quickly and naturally so did prom.

It had been a blissful night, with the losers commemorating their time together and how much they were going to miss what they had.

Stan had danced with Bill, so appreciative that he finally got the chance to have a moment like this with his boyfriend.

Following prom, even more days flew by and much to Stanley’s total dismay so did graduation.

The week after graduation, Stanley officially turned eighteen, opting to celebrate his birthday with Marcia and the other losers.

The losers had wept and shared memories with one another, this being the last time they would see each other until they had no idea when.

It had been really difficult for Stan to say farewell to them, though he was glad that he was still going to have Bill by his side through whatever future endeavours they chose to pursue.

Naturally, once their teary goodbyes had come to an end, it was time for Stanley to begin packing for college.

He had been sifting through his box of mementos which he had still not unloaded since moving in with Marcia. 

He reached for his copy of The New Encyclopaedia of Birds in Derry and felt himself turn to the second last page almost instinctively which contained the bibliography and also a small envelope tucked inside which he had never noticed before.

Confused, he tore it open and his eyebrows rose, beyond shocked as he read the words in front of him.

It was his mother’s will and was written in fancy cursive on pearlized paper.

_I, Andrea Uris hereby declare sole ownership of “Kosher like me” to my only son Stanley once he becomes eighteen._

_I also declare that once I pass, he will maintain sole ownership over my inheritance including my car and fortune among other things._

The will was signed by both Stan’s mother and also Butch and Stanley could not believe his damn eyes.

Visibly shaken, he called for Marcia, showing her the will and together they drove to the first legal office they could find, pleading their case and asking for defence when dealing with Butch.

Their lawyer, who happened to be Mrs Sharon Denbrough, arrived with them at the diner, stopping Butch and his sons dead in their tracks.

“Mr Bowers” she had started, her voice stern as she addressed him, she was clearly not someone to mess with.

“Are you aware that as of Stanley’s eighteenth birthday, it is his full right to sole proprietorship over this diner as was stated in this will right here”, she lifted up the pearlized piece of paper showcasing it in all its glory to Butch.

Butch was pale as he tried to defend himself but failed miserably while his sons silently watched beside him.

“I have never in a million years ever seen my dead wife’s hidden will before, that is downright preposterous!!”

“But is this _your_ signature, is it not?” Mrs Denbrough was clearly getting sick of his bullshit very quickly.

“Uh” that had caught him off guard and Stanley smirked at Butch’s reaction; karma truly was a bitch after all.

“Look, we can do this one of two ways” she continued “either you surrender your proprietorship of this diner to Stanley now, or I get the police involved” she quirked a brow at Butch, this was the last straw and when he did not make an attempt to surrender, she pulled out her phone from her purse.

Butch’s eyes were wide and agape as he stared at her while she dialled the police, but he still did not move to change her mind.

In a flash, the police were at the diner arresting Butch and his sons with the three of them being placed under immediate custody.

Only when Stan’s stepfamily were escorted out the front door, did Mrs Denbrough turn to Stanley

“Well, it looks like my work here is done, you can expect a phone call from me in several days when we will finalise any paperwork and in case you choose to transfer ownership of the diner to another party”.

Stan smiled at her, nodding before she bid him farewell and he viewed her as she exited out the building.

Once she had left, Stanley sagged his shoulders, relieved at the weight which he visibly felt being lifted off his them at the exchange he had just witnessed.

He was finally free of Butch’s evil wrath and he couldn’t be more thankful.

* * *

After thinking it through, Stanley decided to share his ownership of ‘Kosher like me’ with both Marcia and Sally, the three becoming business partners and the two ladies running the diner while Stan was away at college.

Stan had later heard from Mrs Denbrough, that Butch it turned out had a criminal history and was currently on trial for identity theft and several other assault charges, while Henry and Patrick (who were still only 17) were both placed in Juvenile detention for charges of assault and the robbery of a department shop a few years ago.

Stan was comforted by the fact that the three of them would be locked away and he wouldn’t have to deal with their abuse any longer.

He pondered over these thoughts as he unloaded his final box from his car into the apartment that he shared with Bill.

After going through his mother’s will in more depth, Stanley had learnt that she had acquired quite the fortune over the years (as well as the diner and her car) which he had been able to use to pay for college and nicer housing with Bill just outside the college campus.

Looking around at everything, Stanley became aware of something very important.

Despite whatever he used to think about misfortune and suffering, he had discovered especially over the past few weeks that if you wait patiently enough good things can come and that miracles can happen if you just believe and have faith.

He beamed over at Bill as his eyes met his boyfriends’ vibrant blue orbs. It was crazy to believe that after years of pain, Stan had finally been given the chance to experience happiness and security with Bill and within himself.

They were going to have troubles in the future, that was a given, but they had each other and were content with what they had in the current moment.

And right now, that was all Stanley could ever ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I would be back very soon ;)  
> Here it is, this now completed story which originally started as a passion project but has become so much more!!  
> I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read my story from start to finish and has supported me along the way (whether it was through comments, kudos or bookmarks) ~ without you I would be totally lost!!  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Well... until next time I suppose :)


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